African penguins are intelligent and playful birds, but poor living conditions in zoos could be putting them at risk of deadly infections.
A zoo in Gloucestershire kept the deaths of 13 critically endangered penguins quiet, after they joined its facility in a highly publicised move. Figures obtained through Freedom of Information (FOI) requests point to an alarming pattern of penguin mortalities, which a prominent animal welfare charity has branded “very suspect”.
African penguins: quietly vanished
Until its closure in 2022, Bristol Zoo held a colony of African Penguins. Many of its animals were transferred to zoos across the country, with some travelling as far as the US and Spain.
The move to Birdland in Bourton-on-the-Water was highly publicised, with the park announcing a new enclosure to welcome them.
The birds arrived in April 2022:
By August 14, some of them were still on-site.
However, they had quietly vanished by the year’s end – leaving visitors puzzled.
In November 2022, I visited Birdland, specifically to see the African Penguins.
After looking for them, I was told by the head animal keeper that the birds were being moved from Birdland to Whipsnade Zoo, and were currently in between the two due to avian influenza. We now know that this wasn’t the case.
By December, other members of the public voiced concerns about the whereabouts of the birds on ZooChat.
Stocklists obtained through FOI requests show that all of Bristol’s penguins died at Birdland. This means they survived less than 6 months at their new home.
Even now, Birdland staff have been elusive with the public about the birds’ whereabouts.
When I visited in July this year, staff claimed they didn’t know where they’d been moved to.
Unlike the move from Bristol, there was no public announcement anywhere about the penguins moving or dying.
‘Serious errors’
In an official response, Birdland attributed the death to aspergillosis, endocardiosis, trauma, and kidney issues, though some were inconclusive.
Isobel McNally from Freedom for Animals raised questions about the park. She said:
I can’t see how you would lose 13 penguins without serious errors being made.
Birdland planned to take in the second half of Bristol’s colony. However, the birds were sent “directly to Whipsnade” instead. They did not disclose the reason for this.
In an official statement, Bristol Zoological Society, which owned Bristol Zoo, said they weren’t aware of any previous deaths before the move. They confirmed they did not carry out the physical transfer of the penguins, which were all given a “clean bill of health” before moving. The penguins were transferred on recommendation from a European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) led program.
EAZA said that members are “committed to the highest standards of welfare for the animals in their care” and will “investigate these allegations immediately”.
Previous deaths at Birdland
In 2022, eight Humboldt Penguins also died at Birdland. That year, they received six penguins from an unconfirmed zoo. Five were males, and one was female, taking the total Humboldt population up to ten. Stocklists show that the zoo lost at least 4 of these males. Two female birds also died, but it’s not clear which ones.
At the time, local media reported on six of the deaths, which were put down to ‘suspected’ avian malaria, although this was never confirmed.
In response to these deaths, Birdland said that no malaria or influenza was found on post-mortems. They found several birds with aspergillosis; one had “swallowed a twig and perforated its gut wall”, and one had a spleen issue. Others showed no obvious cause of death.
The penguin acquisitions from other zoos, followed by a sweep of deaths, seems to be a pattern for the Gloucestershire zoo.
Animals dying ‘off the radar’
In 2021, 15 Humboldts died, along with three King Penguins. That year, they acquired eight birds from another zoo. It isn’t entirely clear how many of these eight died. However, from the stocklists I obtained, I know that at least two of the four females who joined died, along with three of the four males who joined.
Birdland did not confirm the cause of these deaths by the time of publication.
McNally said that it’s not unusual to find that animals have died “off the radar” and often, zoos experience more deaths than births. She added:
Zoos are very, very able to sweep a lot of animal deaths under the rug, and we would question what their motivation is for doing that.
Whilst zoos have to report animal deaths to the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), legally, they do not have to publicise them.
However, other zoos that have suffered multiple penguin fatalities in the last ten years have done so. Dudley Zoo, Longleat Safari Park, and Exmoor Zoo lost nearly all of their birds to avian malaria, whilst Marwell Zoo suffered losses from avian influenza.
As Birdland reported six deaths in 2022, it appears to inform the public of penguin deaths as and when it chooses, raising questions about its motives for not sharing the news about such publicised birds.
An official statement from Birdland said it would strongly refute any claims that they “actively tried to cover up any deaths” and that they try to create the “best possible environments for them to live in”.
As the local authority responsible for inspecting Birdland, a Cotswold District Council spokesperson said they are investigating the allegations.
Critically endangered
Six facilities in the UK hold African Penguins, which are the only critically endangered penguins, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
There were far fewer deaths at other UK zoos holding African Penguins.
African Penguins: the deaths are ‘very, very bizarre’
Bristol resident Laura Asher was devastated that the former Bristol Zoo penguins had died:
Chris Lewis from the Born Free Foundation suggested the stress of the move could have made the Penguins “more susceptible” to a pathogen at Birdland. However, it was “very, very bizarre” as Birdland isn’t far from Bristol.
He added that only transferring half of the colony would add extra stress, alongside being in a new environment. Ultimately, though, he emphasised that:
Thirteen penguins don’t all just die that close together.
Featured image and additional images supplied
