Penguins in the swim of things at new Detroit Zoo home
DETROIT — The stark white structure outside reaches skyward like, well, the tip of an iceberg.
Inside, mock gale-force winds swirl with simulated salt spray while a small ocean of water surges over, under and through the Detroit Zoo’s stunning new penguin exhibit.
During Wednesday's opening for media at the zoo's newest and now biggest display, there were no visitors to ooh and ahh. That's coming soon. The Polk Penguin Conservation Center opens to annual zoo members Monday.
Until then, the best judge of its success might be the flock of 80-plus laughably jubilant creatures, clad in tuxedo-esque plummage. They now inhabit what must be penguin heaven — a place with all the watery thrills and icy chills of Antarctica, yet with none of the predators that annually decimate 10% of the world's penguin population.
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"Ever since they got here, it’s like they’re jumping for joy,” said zoo spokeswoman Patricia Janeway.
“They’re porpoising like crazy" — leaping out of the water, then arcing back in — and "they're behaving exactly like we hoped they would,” Janeway said.
It was nearly three years ago when Zoo Director Ron Kagan predicted three things would happen if center would be built, with its staggering $30 million price tag. First, Kagan said the exhibit would give Michigan a world-class attraction. Second, it would turn the the zoo into a national leader at teaching the effects of climate change. And third, the penguins “will literally be doing laps around us as we walk up a stairway wrapped around an iceberg.”
About the first two, time will tell. As for No. 3, seeing penguins do laps around walkways of transfixed humans? Slam dunk. They're doing the laps, then taking breaks to strut right up beside expansive windows to stare out at the curious two-legged creatures on the other side.
"They're so curious," exclaimed Kagan on Wednesday, as he accompanied reporters while clad in a red tie dotted with penguin profiles.
"I know this sounds anthropomorphic, but our first impression is that the penguins are having a thrilling experience.
"And this is something you can't do in the wild — show penguins swimming underwater," Kagan said.
From above, the watery curve of the display has bubbling water in deep to light blues framed by white simulated ice that's piled on one side with real snow, constantly falling from a gray pseudo sky. From below, penguins dive, fin at up to 22 mph, then torpedo up to the surface to grab a breath of air before making another round of their simulated spot in the Antarctic Ocean.
Taking in the scene with a serious mien was Scott Carter, the zoo's chief life sciences officer.
"We put years of research and thinking into this thing. To see it finally done is unbelievable," Carter said Wednesday.
Even before its official opening, the penguin center has gotten praise from around the country. Zoo leaders elsewhere know of its envelope-pushing scale and educational mission, said Rob Vernon, senior vice president for external affairs at the Association of Zoos & Aquariums, a trade group in Silver Spring, Md.
“This exhibit is emblematic of a trend of modern zoologic facilities to expand their offerings and do more than just show the animals,” Vernon said Monday.
“You’re not only getting great views of the penguins but you’re going to learn about climate change and walk out of there knowing about all of the different problems facing those animals and how that will ultimately impact your own day-to-day life,” he said.
As for claiming a superlative in the world of zoos, the life sciences chief was unequivocal: "Yes, this is the biggest in the world for penguins," Carter said.
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