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Zoo penguin habitat ribbon cutting ceremony
The Humboldt penguins are making a splash with their return to the now-completed renovated habitat: Penguins of the Pacific at the Milwaukee County Zoo.
MILWAUKEE - The Humboldt penguins are making a splash with their return to the now-completed renovated habitat: Penguins of the Pacific at the Milwaukee County Zoo. A ribbon -cutting ceremony was held on Wednesday, Dec. 11.
The penguin habitat project is funded in part by a $3.5 million grant through the State of Wisconsin Department of Administration’s Tourism Capital Grant Program that the zoo received in 2023. Funding for the program was provided by the State by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021.
Milwaukee County allocated an additional $1.5 million in funding from 2023 surplus sales tax proceeds to complete the project.
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The ribbon-cutting ceremony also served as a preview of the zoo’s Penguins of the Pacific celebration, culminating in special activities that evening at the Zoo’s Wild Lights event.
New penguin habitat at Milwaukee County Zoo
The zoo is home to a breeding colony of 15 Humboldt penguins and is one of only 21 facilities across the United States and Canada to care for this species.
Humboldt penguins are listed as vulnerable in their natural range of Peru and Chile.