The National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium in Pingtung County is allowing visitors to interact with penguins up close as part of a program running until June.
The program enables visitors to see a side of penguin life that the public normally does not get to see, including how they are fed and cared for, the aquarium said on Thursday.
The experience is held twice daily for eight people at a time, it said, adding that 2,000 people have participated since the activity was first held in 2021.
Photo: CNA
The program was reintroduced at the beginning of this month, it said, adding that all available tickets for this month were sold on the day the booking platform opened.
“There is a whole process before we even let anyone in with the penguins,” the aquarium said. “This involves multiple disinfections, layers of protective clothing and instructions on precautions when around the animals.”
Visitors are also taught about what penguins eat at the aquarium, how they breed and where they lay eggs, it said.
“I made the trip down from Taipei. It’s great, it’s like visiting Antarctica without leaving Taiwan,” a visitor surnamed Liu (劉) said.
“I like penguins, so I took advantage of my winter break to come check it out. It is nice to be able to see the penguins without the separation of the glass enclosure walls,” a university student surnamed Lin (林) said.
Visitors can this month also glimpse behind the scenes to see how turtles, fish and coral are cared for, the aquarium said.
Meanwhile, Taoyuan-based aquarium Xpark said that a king penguin that was sent to it by Taipei Zoo for breeding in December last year is healthy and eating normally.
Xpark said it hopes that its joint efforts with Taipei Zoo will increase the zoo’s population of king penguins, as some of them are nearing their life expectancy.
Penguins first arrived at the zoo in 2000 and became an instant hit with visitors, Taipei Zoo said, adding that the first king penguin chicks hatching at the zoo caused a media frenzy.
However, as the zoo’s penguins have aged, many eggs laid in the past couple of years were not fertilized, it said.
The zoo said it is seeking to solve the issue by sending its youngest penguin, eight-year-old Du Pang (嘟胖), to breed at Xpark.
Penguins can breed after they molt, which goes along with increased hormone levels, but whether they do so depends on whether they are attracted to a significant other of the opposite sex, it said.
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