Penguin Island - A Colony Built in 1984

Photo: Daniel Ramirez from Honolulu, USA, CC BY 2.0 (cropped)

A stop on San Francisco Zoo: Exhibit by Exhibit, a free self-guided tour.

This oval pool began as a WPA-era reflecting pool and later held seals, monkeys and even another kind of penguin. In 1984 it was rebuilt for Magellanic penguins, with an island of black volcanic rock and burrows for nesting, and about 52 wild penguins founded the colony. It grew into what the zoo calls the largest and most successful breeding colony of the species in a North American zoo.

Magellanic penguins come from the coasts of Argentina, Chile and the Falkland Islands, where they nest in burrows dug into the ground. They are a temperate-climate penguin, so San Francisco's cool fog suits them. Watch them porpoise through the water, leaping out like little dolphins, or listen for their braying call, which sounds a lot like a donkey.

In the wild they face oil spills, overfishing and shifting ocean conditions that move the fish they depend on.

Getting here: From the Lion House, walk a few steps north to the rail around Penguin Island.

Did you know?: Magellanic penguins are named for the explorer Ferdinand Magellan, whose crew saw them on his 1520 voyage around South America.

Photo op: Shoot low along the rail as penguins porpoise toward the island; mornings and feeding times are liveliest.

For kids: Watch the burrows - penguins pop in and out of them like little houses. How many can you count swimming at once?

Nearby: A snack cart sits between the pool and the Lion House; Leaping Lemur Cafe and restrooms are a short walk west.

More on Wikipedia: Magellanic penguin · Ferdinand Magellan

Penguin Island - A Colony Built in 1984

Stops on this tour