A new adventure for the African penguins at Nausicaá

Time flies! It’s already been 20 years since the first African penguins arrived at Nausicaá. Since 2006, the colony has seen pairs form and the number of chicks increase – around thirty since 2009. 

The year 2026 marks a turning point: the start of new adventures for our 24 penguins.

The extension works at Nausicaá, which are due to begin later this year, will directly affect the area where our penguins currently live, and they will have to leave their current home.

Consideration was given to finding an on-site solution that would ensure the penguins’ welfare and peace of mind during the two years of construction work. No solution seemed satisfactory, and the difficult decision was taken to entrust our penguins to partner organisations.

EAZA keeps a detailed record of each individual and their family relationships. This information is used to track animal movements between facilities in order to establish and maintain genetically healthy and sustainable populations. Thanks to this coordinated management, every penguin transfer contributes to the long-term conservation of the species.

As penguins are gregarious animals, the social bonds and affinities within the colony were also taken into account when allocating the birds to the various care facilities.

The penguins will be released in two stages: thirteen will be released in March at La Palmyre Zoo (Charente-Maritime), and the remaining eleven will be released at Le PAL Wildlife Park (Allier) at the end of the summer. 

These partner organisations already have penguin colonies and provide suitable accommodation, making it easier for new arrivals to settle in.

Our penguin colony consists of individuals ranging in age from one year old—the two youngest, born at Nausicaa—to twenty-three years old, the oldest member of the group. The majority of the penguins are in their twenties.

In the best interests of the animals, and to avoid repeated journeys that would result in successive and potentially stressful periods of readjustment, it was decided that the relocation of the colony would be permanent, in consultation with the conservation programme coordinator and the partners.

Once the work is completed in 2028, Nausicaá will open a brand-new enclosure dedicated to African penguins. Five times larger than the current facility, it will be able to accommodate up to thirty penguins.  

A new colony will therefore be established in accordance with the recommendations of the conservation programme coordinator.

This will mark the start of a new chapter in the history of the penguins at Nausicaá. In the meantime, you still have a few weeks left to come and say goodbye to the centre’s ‘long-standing’ penguins before they leave.