Saying Goodbye to ‘Odin’
Saying goodbye to the animals we love and care for is always difficult, but it is especially so when they have been a member of our zoo family for a long time.…
Read MoreAs of August 26th, the City of Calgary has resumed Stage 4 Outdoor Water Restrictions while they complete urgent repairs to the Bearspaw South Feeder Main. We will continue to adjust our daily operations to ensure compliance with the restrictions that are in place, while ensuring the safety, health, and well-being of the animals we love and care for.
We are taking the following steps to limit the use of city water:
Kinsmen Zooventure Playground, September 3-5: The Kinsmen Zooventure Playground in Destination Africa will be closed from Tuesday, September 3rd, through to Thursday, September 5th, to accommodate maintenance and resurfacing work.
Gateway to Asia, September 11: Gateway to Asia will open at 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 11th, to accommodate a private event.
Zoo Closure, September 19: The Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo will be closed to the public (including members and day admission) on Thursday, September 19th, 2024, while we host the final event of the 2024 AZA Annual Conference.
Zoo Closure, September 26: The Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo will close at 3 p.m. on Thursday, September 26th for a private staff and volunteer celebration. The last entry for members and day admission will be 3 p.m. The zoo grounds will be cleared by 4 p.m.
Thank you for your understanding!
African Savannah Yard: Our Hartmann’s mountain zebras and ostriches will be off-view until the end of the year while we complete exciting upgrades in the African Savannah Yard, including the construction of a new Savannah Barn for the animals. Our giraffe tower will continue to be viewable throughout the project.
Thank you for your understanding.
Bite-Sized
There’s exciting news in Penguin Plunge! Our Humboldt chick now officially has a name!
We are thrilled to announce that our newest addition has been named ‘Rafael’. This name is a nod to the Laguna San Rafael National Park, which is located on the Pacific coast of Southern Chile. Humboldt penguins are endemic to the warmer climates of Peru and Chile and swim in the chilly Humboldt Current.
At two months old, Rafael weighs 3.5 kilograms and is already losing some of his downy feathers in a juvenile molt, which is called a “fledge”. For Gentoo and Humboldt penguins, this typically happens around three months of age – much sooner than king penguins, which are between eight and eleven months old when they first molt!
Rafael won’t look grown-up quite yet, and for now, he can be identified by his greyish feathers before he takes on his adult ‘tuxedo’ of black and white feathers.
Waddle on over to Penguin Plunge to greet Rafael by name!
Humboldt chick ‘Rafael’