Penguin (African)

The African Penguin is the only penguin species that breeds in Africa, and found nowhere else.

At the Toronto Zoo, these birds are identified by their markings on the face and dots on the belly. They are also tagged on their wings.

They spend a great percentage of their lives at sea. They return on a regular basis to their breeding grounds on land and continue to return to these sites year after year. Time spent on land is for the few months,  required for their chicks to develop. Moulting occurs annually between November and January in South Africa and between April and May in Namibia when the penguins come ashore for about three weeks, long enough to moult. They fast during this period of time.

Photographed at Toronto Zoo