At the zoo, the lions and the tigers might be among the biggest draws, but during the winter the king of attractions is the daily penguin walks.

King penguins in particular—as that species takes part in the annual penguin walks at the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo.

The 13th annual walk kicked off an Jan. 13, after a bit of unseasonably warm weather and wind delayed the official launch the Friday prior.

The reason for the delay, much like the reason why the walks occur in the first place, is for the health of the birds themselves.

“We always want to make sure that the birds’ health is our number one priority. So we want to make sure when they are outside and they are walking, the parameters are safe for them,” said Patrick Thompson, Animal Care Manager at the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo.

“That means that the temperatures need to be at five degrees Celsius or below, and the winds need to be below 20 kilometres an hour.”

When the temperature is just right, Thompson said that the birds, some 14 of them, are often raring to exit Penguin Plunge and waddle down the main pathway through the zoo near the bridge.

“We have seven birds that are under 10 years old, and we have seven birds that are 15 or older. So they get different things from the walk. It helps the youngsters burn off some energy, and for the older ones, motion is lotion. It keeps them moving, keeps them spry, and keeps them nice and healthy,” he said.

Visitors looking to find the standout brown feathered chicks though won’t see any of them this year, as the zoo didn’t hatch any new birds ahead of 2025.

“We are always working with our partners in the SSP, which is the species survival plan for King Penguins, making sure that we are hatching out birds that are going to help the population. So this year, took a bit of a year off from hatching out king penguins,” Thompson said.

“Our youngest penguin, his name is Augustus, and he has a red band on his right wing. He looks a lot like the adults now that he’s lost all his brown feathers. But he looks a little bit different if you’re looking trying to pick him out of the crowd.”

Natural behaviours on display during penguin walks

The enrichment that the birds get is also matched by the enrichment the public gets from the walks, as they get to learn about conservation work being done at the zoo and how the birds behave in the wild.

“The public always seems to really enjoy it. Everybody gets to see the birds up close. They get to see birds doing some natural behaviours, going for a nice long walk to get that exercise and that enrichment,” said Thompson.

King Penguins, are a sub-Antarctic species that lives in the cold waters surrounding that continent, and their desire to walk comes from the natural habitats in which they reside.

“It depends on the colony, but a lot of them will nest kind of further inland on some of the ice shelves. So they need to walk pretty long distances in order to get to the ocean, to get to their food and to get to the cold water that they enjoy,” Thompson said.

“Walking a very long distance, or kind of going for these long walks or is very natural for them. It’s something that they do in the wild, so we want to help mimic that for them and to give them the opportunity to do those behaviours here under human care.”

That natural environment of warmer weather and wind is the reason why the birds stay indoors.

“Penguins are susceptible to a disease called aspergillosis, which is a fungal infection. We want to make sure we are not introducing them to any of those fungal spores,” Thompson said.

“We know that fungus is active above plus five Celsius. We know when the winds are above 20 kilometres an hour, that’s when the wind can pick up those spores and blow them.”

When the weather is right, visitors to the zoo can catch the penguins outdoors doing their walk at 10:30 a.m. daily, if the penguins want to walk.

“If those penguins don’t want to walk, they don’t have to walk. If they want to choose to stay behind, or even not even come outside if they want to stay inside the building for the day. That’s their choice and we don’t force them,” said Thompson.

Photos from the start of the 2025 Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo penguin walks