The Vancouver Aquarium will soon be bidding farewell to the four African penguins they have been housing since 2012.
The penguins — Hope, Steveston, Salt Spring and Sechelt — are being moved to Edmonton in May.
The four will be joining a much larger colony of 17 African penguins and will be participating in a breeding program known as SAFE.
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That program works with animal facilities across the world to help save the critically-endangered species, according to the Vancouver Aquarium.
It’s a sad, though hopeful, development for aquarium staff as they have grown fond of their four penguin friends, but are happy they will be joining a bigger colony.
“They will now have the opportunity to interact with other individuals of the species, and they will be able to potentially acquire new mates,” Debbie Silva said, a Vancouver Aquarium mammal trainer.
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