A day in the life of a ‘retired’ aquarium penguin

It’s 9:15 a.m. at the New England Aquarium in Boston—breakfast time for the seven African penguins who live on a small, fenced-off island near the aquarium’s front entrance.

Here, the seabirds are quiet, much quieter than their neighbors in the larger African penguin colony to their left and the Southern Rockhopper colony around the corner to their right. They swim lazily in the water, preen their feathers, and relax on their chosen perches, waiting patiently for breakfast to arrive in colorful refitted popsicle stick holders. There’s no jostling or squawking—they have the best etiquette out of the facility’s more than 70 penguins

These are the aquarium’s “retired” African penguins.

Native to the rocky coastlines of South Africa and Namibia, African penguins (Spheniscus demersus) are a stalwart in zoos and aquariums across the country. They’re a charismatic species, instantly recognizable by their tuxedo of black and white feathers and their donkey-like cries.

At the New England Aquarium, some members of the colony are living up to two-and-a-half times longer than the 10 to 15 years they reach in the wild. Seven geriatric seabirds relocated to a separate enclosure in February 2025 as part of the aquarium’s efforts to address the growing number of aging birds. Good Hope, for example, is the aquarium’s oldest African penguin at 36. Advanced age seems to run in the family: his mother, Deco, died in 2023 just shy of the whopping age of 42.

“As the colony aged, it was almost like a joke: ‘Why don’t we open up an old folks' home for them?’” says Eric Fox, the assistant curator of penguins. “These are relatively healthy birds with age-related issues.”

And for all intents and purposes, their separate island really is a “retirement” home. They’re away from the pecking and jostling of the younger birds, although they can still see them. There’s plenty of fish (often stuffed with important medications), physical therapy, mental enrichment sessions like field trips around the aquarium, and an overall slower pace of life. The only thing that’s missing, really, is bingo.

The aches and pains of aging

On the morning of my visit to the aquarium, Fox, clad in a black wetsuit, is sitting on the island with a metal bucket filled with anchovies, herring, and a small fish called capelin. Slowly, the penguins waddle up beside him in a neat row. Lambert, 33— watches from the tall perch he claimed with his mate Dyer, 15.

As the aquarium’s penguins have aged, they’ve started to develop some of the same conditions see in older humans, like glaucoma, arthritis, and spinal issues. Lambert and Good Hope each had an eye removed to treat their glaucoma. Boulders, 35, has the most advanced arthritis of the colony.

“In the wild, they’re just not getting old enough to start seeing or developing these issues,” explains Nina Nahvi, the aquarium’s medical center manager. “Once they start reaching 25 years on is when that geriatric obligation really kicks in. They’re going to start getting more frequent exams.”

She adds that most of the geriatric birds have quarterly eye exams as opposed to annual ones.

The penguins’ breakfast is stuffed with the necessary vitamins or medication each bird needs based on an individualized care plan. The enclosure also has regular access to fish, for snacking, and additional fish that have been injected with extra water to promote kidney health. The aquarium’s veterinary team conducts annual blood work to see how the penguin’s  internal organs are functioning and to check for evidence of inflammation or infection.

By 9:40 a.m., breakfast is over, so it’s time for senior penguin trainer Nick Vitale to give Lambert his eye drops, which he receives twice a day. Scooting high onto the island, Vitale gently picks up Lambert and places him on his lap, giving him a couple of scratches on the head while Dyer hovers protectively behind.

The 33-year-old penguin, who has a long history of cataracts, is surprisingly chill as Vitale squeezes the drops into his eye. Vitale says his calm demeanor results from years of training, where trainers dispense fish to gain the penguins’ trust and teach them that being handled is a positive experience.

“That's kind of the main reason that we do a lot of our trainings, to make sure that when they get to this age and may need eyedrops, we want to make sure it's not stressful for them,” explains Vitale as he gently holds Lambert’s side. “It’s about keeping it fun and positive. Giving them scratches and fish is the secret to their hearts.”

A slower place of life

Lambert and Dyer were the first to be introduced to their new home.

When Lambert ended up choosing the tallest perch on the island, the team wasn’t exactly thrilled. With only one eye, navigating the peaks and valleys of the rocky island would be challenging. So the team made it senior friendly by placing soft and spongy mats around the island, forming a sort of tactile and visual “highway” system for the penguins to follow. This gentle cushion helps reduce the chance of bumblefoot, painful lesions that can develop on the bottom of penguin feet because of factors like old age and a sedentary lifestyle.

As more penguins were introduced, each pair or individual established clear-cut boundaries. Harlequin, 33, prefers perching on a little outcrop close to the water on the island’s left side, while Good Hope and his mate St. Croix, 24, live on a cushy mat to the far right.

Over the last year, the birds have become comfortable in their home, exhibiting behaviors they didn’t often display in the main colony. Isis, 30, who struggled socially and was pushed around by the younger birds, has finally carved out a space for herself. She’s often found peacefully swimming. Boulders, who was always known to be active, is now more comfortable resting throughout the day.

Acupuncture, physical therapy, and field trips

As a prey species, penguins have what’s called a preservation reflex. In the wild, this helps them mask signs of illness or injury so that they’re not picked off by a predator or outcompeted. Having an area sectioned off from the main colony has allowed handlers to closely monitor this behavior.

If one of the penguins isn’t eating properly or is moving stiffer than normal, the team will schedule a physical exam. Sometimes this means basic physical therapy, like gently encouraging movement and strengthening the muscles in the affected area. For more serious cases like spinal disease or arthritis, Nahvi and her team may prescribe treatments like acupuncture. The acupuncturist on call for the aquarium (who also does work on humans and dogs) stops by a few times a week when needed, and the birds relax in a dark room while the needles in their bodies work their magic.

As for inflammation, common among the older penguins, a laser machine emits precise beams of light to increase circulation and manage pain. “It’s so funny. There are people on the teams that are 10 years younger than the penguins they take care of,” explains Nahvi while showing me a tonometer, a handheld machine that measures the penguins’ eye pressure for conditions like glaucoma.

Taking care of the penguin’s physical needs is just one part of the puzzle. The birds also need mental stimulation, which is incorporated into their daily routines. These enrichment sessions include playing with mirror balls, floating toys, and bubbles, or having a team member pick up the penguins to give them a 360-degree view of the aquarium and its visitors.

Thirty-three-year-old Harlequin in particular goes wild for one thing: her carrier. As soon as she sees it, she’ll excitedly shuffle across the island and walk right into it—minimal coaxing needed. A team member will then take her on a mini field trip around the aquarium.

“The fish swimming by, the colors, the lights. Sometimes that can be the strongest treatment for them,” explains Vitale.

The work on “retirement” island is ongoing, and the team is eyeing candidates who may join in the future. Fox hopes that visitors will be inspired by the geriatric colony and leave the aquarium with a community-oriented desire to help save their wild counterparts. The African penguin is a critically endangered species whose population has plummeted by 97 percent in less than a century.

In New England, however, the aquarium’s seven geriatric penguins — Lambert, Dyer, St. Croix, Good Hope, Boulders, Harlequin, and Isis— are enjoying a well-deserved retirement.

“At some point we may have to make a difficult decision that it's no longer in their best interest, but this is sort of that in-between stage,” says Fox of humane euthanasia. “We’re also learning the resilience these animals have. Even in their older age, they're capable of learning, they're capable of figuring out new ways of navigating, even with visual limitations or wonky joints.”