Work Progresses on Toledo Zoo?s Penguin Beach

Daily Dose  |  04/24/2014

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Visitors to the Toledo Zoo this year will have a dynamic new exhibit to enjoy, starting on Friday, May 23.

At the all-new Penguin Beach, near the historic Aquarium, visitors will walk right through the exhibit, with penguins on three sides; nearby, a “wall of water” offers expanded underwater viewing. The exhibit’s new location, near the playground at Primate Forest, also offers the Zoo’s youngest visitors greater interaction with these charismatic birds.

The Zoo is increasing the size of its penguin flock ? more correctly called a colony ? and the new birds have already started arriving: four females and one male. They are completing their 30-day quarantine at Penguin Beach’s off-exhibit holding quarters.

Penguin Beach is not the only new exhibit of 2014. Flamingo Key, sponsored by Toledo Express Airport, also opens May 23. The former waterfowl area, near the award-winning Aviary, is getting an island-inspired makeover to prepare for these “avian supermodels,” back at the Zoo for the first time in decades. The flamingo flock, known as a flamboyance, includes both juveniles and adults, giving visitors a chance to see the young birds grow up.

Near the Zoo’s Broadway entrance, a new free-flight parakeet exhibit is being finalized. ‘Keet Retreat, sponsored by BP, allows visitors to enjoy these colorful, friendly members of the parrot family in a fun encounter unlike anything else in the region. An optional feeding experience further enhances the visit.

As the May 23 ? 25 Opening Weekend Celebration approaches, sponsored by Kroger, updates will be shared at toledozoo.org/flight. Family-friendly experiences like these helped the Zoo earn its rating of second among all the nation’s zoos, and eighth among overall family attractions, by FamilyFun Magazine.