The Humboldt penguins, a huge draw at the Byculla Zoo for the last couple of weeks, are facing a dilemma. Despite it being the middle of their breeding season, the penguins are unable to mate because of lack of privacy. The zoo authorities have intervened by setting up nesting areas for the flightless birds. According to zoo officials, two penguin couples, Donald and Daisy, and Olive and Popeye, are showing signs of being ready for mating. “Penguins pick a partner for life and two of the couples have been preening for the past few days, which indicate they are ready to mate. However, penguins only mate during the day time, which collides with the visiting hours at the zoo, and they are too shy to mate while people are staring at them,” said one of the staff members who takes care of the birds. According to him, Humboldt penguins start mating after the age of three years. Every day, more than 10,000 people visit the enclosure. According to the officials, penguins are shy and unable to mate with hundreds of people watching. Dr Sanjay Tripathi, the zoo director, said the authorities would place some nesting material where the birds could mate and lay eggs. “We had placed a small crate in the enclosure on Monday. We’ll observe their behaviour and see whether they accept the new material and then set up another crate. We will also place sticks and pebbles to mimic a natural setup where the penguins can care for the eggs,” said Tripathi. Dr Madhumita Kale, the veterinarian in charge of the birds, said: “Among penguins, both the mother and the father care for the egg and, typically, the incubation period for an egg is around 40 days. In the wild, penguins use their faeces to build the nest. But in the enclosure, we can use natural material like sand and pebbles, which will be safe for them.” After being shifted to the enclosure from the quarantine section, she added, the penguins’ appetite had grown and the quantity of fish being consumed on a daily basis had increased from 4.2 kg to almost 6 kg now. Eight penguins had been brought in pairs from South Korea last year. One died in October, leaving one penguin without a partner. The zoo authorities had asked the procurement agency to provide a replacement. “We are in talks with the agency and trying to find a male penguin who can be a partner for one-and-a-half-year-old Flipper. Since she is still young, there is some time,” said Tripathi. He said once the agency found a suitable male penguin, the zoo authorities would have to apply for permissions from the Central Zoo Authority before the bird could be brought to the Byculla Zoo.
