Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration

The Roger Tory Peterson Penguin Exhibit offers above- and below-water viewing of the more than 20 African penguins who live at the Aquarium. Watch them interact on the exhibit’s rocks, then head below to the underwater viewing windows, where you get an up-close look at the birds swimming and socializing.

Collect Your Pennies for Penguins

Over the last five years, the world’s African penguin population has decreased by an alarming 42 percent. In December 2008, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed listing the African penguin as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

The African penguins at Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration are helping their relatives across the world. They play an integral role in the African Penguin Species Survival Plan, and the aquarium staff’s work with them is helping researchers better understand penguins in the wild. In fact, the aquarium is a leader in a collaborative, nationwide effort to assist researchers in South Africa.

Last year, staff from the aquarium’s animal care, education and research departments got together to form the Penguin Task Force. Their mission is to examine all factors possibly affecting the penguins and develop a plan for the aquarium to lead and assist with education, research and conservation efforts of these species.