Saturday is “Penguin Awareness Day,” and SeaWorld San Diego will be celebrating all weekend long, with special events and activities for guests.
One of the highlights at the Penguin Encounter will be seeing “Pearl” out on the ice. The emperor penguin chick was born in September and was the first to hatch at SeaWorld in more than a decade.
Senior Aviculturist Savannah Goehring said the last four-and-a-half-months have been extremely rewarding.
“When she first hatched, every hour or hour-and-a-half or so, round-the-clock care. She was getting overnight watches and so it really took the entire team, but it was so worth it to see,” Goehring said. “When she first came out on the ice and got to interact with all the other penguins, like, that’s what we were working for. So we’re all so very, very excited.”
Get San Diego local news, weather forecasts, sports and lifestyle stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC San Diego newsletters.
Nearly 300 penguins call the Penguin Encounter home, including 21 chicks welcomed during the recent breeding season. As part of this weekend’s festivities, guests will get a chance to learn more about them.
“We have a couple different talks that are specifically gonna focus on our chicks and what we do to raise them and take care of them,” Goehring said, “… as well as some penguin meet -and-greets over at Wild Arctic.”
Penguin Awareness Day also coincides with SeaWorld’s Inside Look weekend, which is free with paid admission to the park. Inside Look includes behind-the-scenes opportunities throughout the park as well as the chance to hear from the SeaWorld Rescue team and animal care specialists.
“We have a few special things going on this weekend that are all included with guest admission, so you don’t have to pay anything extra, and you get to learn about these amazing animals,” Goehring said.
