Move over, polar bears, the penguins are coming! Visitors to the Oregon Zoo are invited to wear black and white and join the "Penguin Parade," as the zoo's colony of Humboldt penguins moves to its temporary quarters in the polar bear exhibit Wednesday, Oct. 27, at 10:30 a.m. The zoo is moving the birds so installation of a new, more efficient, water-saving filtration system can begin. The upgrade to the Penguinarium is one of several projects made possible by a $125 million bond measure passed by voters in 2008.
“We’re inviting the public to help us celebrate the move, and expect they will be as excited to get the bond projects under way as we are,” said Chris Pfefferkorn, Oregon Zoo interim deputy director. “We broke ground on our new Veterinary Medical Center earlier this fall, but the Penguinarium will be our first project to be completed, reopening in late spring.”
The polar bears, which currently have two separate pools, will move into their summer pool, allowing their winter pool to be occupied by the penguins while the penguin exhibit is closed. The winter pool has been modified to meet penguin needs; the most noticeable alterations are a large tarp to protect the birds from the elements and decking material over the concrete, to protect the birds’ feet.
Penguin Parade festivities begin at 9:30 a.m. with a penguin hand-puppet craft station for anyone who wants to “be a penguin” in the parade. The local band Sneakin’ Out entertains at 10 a.m. And at 10:30, zoo director Kim Smith, Metro Councilor Robert Liberty and the zoo’s new costumed penguin character will lead the penguin keepers and the penguins (in crates) to their temporary home. The head of the line is reserved for Mochica, the zoo’s visitor-friendly penguin.
The Penguinarium’s current filtration system, installed in 1982, does not operate efficiently. Because penguins eat fish and their feathers are oily, their 25,000-gallon pool is drained and cleaned each week and water runs continuously to the city sanitary sewer. The new system includes a heat exchanger to keep water cool, strainer baskets and sand filters to remove feathers and debris from the pool, and an ozone tank to kill harmful bacteria. The zoo expects to save 80 percent of the water currently used –– millions of gallons every year. Water quality and clarity will also be improved with the new system.
“We want the zoo be an example of the latest thinking in sustainable design,” Pfefferkorn said. “We’re looking at ways to save water and energy in every new exhibit and across the entire zoo.”