Grandma, believed to have been at least 46, was part of a successful breeding effort.
Grandma, believed to have been at least 46, was part of a successful breeding effort.
WUPPERTAL, Germany— — James King
The oldest king penguin living at a zoo in the world has been put to sleep after her health took a turn for the worst.
Wuppertal Zoo in Germany bid farewell to its beloved resident Grandma, who was at least 46 years old, on Nov. 11. The zoo publicly mourned the loss in a Facebook post a week later.
While her exact age remained unknown, Grandma was brought to the zoo in 1975 along with 11 other king penguins for what became one of the largest and most successful penguin breeding efforts in Europe. The egg from which she hatched was from Antarctica and was hatched in South Africa. By the time Grandma reached Germany, she was believed to have been at least a year old.
During her time at the zoo, the penguin lived a long, active life. She actively participated in social activities with her peers, produced many offspring and helped raise all of the chicks in the penguin enclosure. She even took a new partner in 2018 after several penguins from a nearby zoo were brought to Wuppertal while their facility was being rebuilt.
However, Grandma’s health began to decline over the years, and she eventually developed a deformed beak and experienced impaired movement and vision. After her condition failed to improve, despite veterinary treatments and monitoring, the team of caretakers at Wuppertal Zoo decided to euthanize her.
“Farewell to king penguin ‘Grandma,’” the zoo said in its post.
The king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) is the second-largest penguin species after the emperor penguin, growing as tall as 27-35 inches and weighing up to 22-35 pounds. The animals are mostly white and black with golden-yellow necks and orange-red cheeks and bills.
Primarily living on subantarctic islands, king penguins are known to form vast colonies, some of which include more than 100,000 breeding pairs. Fish make up approximately 80% of their diets, but the birds also eat squid and crustaceans. Chicks often eat regurgitated food from their parents’ mouths.
The worldwide king penguin population is estimated to be around 2.23 million breeding pairs and is increasing. The birds are listed as of “Least Concern” on the IUCN’s Red List and typically live up to 25 years in the wild.
(Edited by Carlin Becker and Fern Siegel)
(Edited by Carlin Becker and Fern Siegel)
