By Cole Gee | Staff Writer

Last August, Cameron Park Zoo got a lot colder as a storm of South African penguins swept into a new $12.8 million habitat. The 11 pairs of penguins have been one of the zoo’s most popular attractions. While their cuteness is a big money maker, the zoo’s main work with the penguins is through conservation.

As it stands, the South African penguin is threatened with extinction by 2035. Cameron Park Zoo now holds 11 out of the 10,000 available breeding pairs across the planet. A little over a century ago, there used to be over a million. However, zoos across the country are working to make sure the penguins don’t head toward extinction.

Cameron Park Zoo originally gained the colony from the Fort Worth Zoo. The penguins were moved due to construction and have had a peaceful transition since. Animal Care Manager Christopher Geerts and Senior Keeper Clara Tackitt are in charge of the penguins and birds. Alongside their seven-person team, their main job is to make sure the bonded pairs remain happy in their new homes.

“The plan ultimately started probably a decade ago, if not longer, just as a vision of master planning,” Geerts said. “At the time, our zoo management had this vision of extending Africa and housing African penguins and black-footed cats and having more of an event space, and then ultimately, it kind of rolled out as a bond project and it was voted on by the public.”

The indoor habitat where the penguins live is state of the art, with multiple features and enrichment activities to keep the penguins, cool, happy and active. There’s an indoor pool for swimming that includes a boiler and chiller to heat and cool the pool, as well as mist fans to replicate the cool weather of their original wild habitat.

Focusing on the zoo’s conservation efforts, Cameron Park Zoo is essentially split between exhibits focusing on entertainment and education for the Waco population. The other half is used for conservation groups.

“We really try to focus on donating funds to different in-country conservation efforts that are being done,” Geerts said. “When we’re talking about African penguins, we donate and we partner with African Penguin Safe. And what that particular group does is they have a handful of different projects in-country that directly impact the wild penguins.”

Some of these programs include an artificial nest project, habitat restoration and disaster relief programs. Every time somebody comes to the zoo or donates to their zoological society or to the Cameron Park Zoo, a portion of that can directly go to help wild penguins, he said.

Tackitt admits she’s always been an animal person growing up. During her time with the penguins, she said how each one had a unique and sometimes “stinker-like personality.”

“They all have their own personalities. We have Mauri, who is our oldest. He’s 31, and he’s got Melanoma,” Tackitt said. “So he’s going through cancer treatments right now and he’s just this old man. He wants his fish, then he’s going to go take his nap and he’s good. But then you’ve got our younger girls and they’re just very inquisitive.”

Mauri is accompanied by his mate Rita to his various cancer appointments, as the two lovebirds tend to get restless when they are away from each other for too long, she said.

Cameron Park Zoo is also enrolled in the SSP or Species Survival Program. Their main role is a genetic database that lets zookeepers know which married pairs of penguins can and cannot breed. The penguins have only been in Waco since August, so no eggs have officially been made. However, the zoo has recently had one bonded pair approved to breed.

“I think it’s just a matter of time before we start getting some eggs and start having some offspring,” Geerts said. “You can’t tell a penguin, ‘You’re not allowed to pair with this female, you have to pair with this female.’ You cannot tell that for a fact. They are like, ‘This is my mate and that’s it.’ And you’re like, ‘Y’all can’t have babies because y’all are cousins.'”

The two recommend for anyone interested in supporting bird conservation and the penguins to donate to the Cameron Park Zoo or simply buy a ticket to see the animals themselves as every bit goes a long way to preserving this endangered species.