Feeding time with Harbor seals and penguins August 22, 2019

Be there! This is the name of our special adventure programme. From 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., we have some interesting feeding presentation or animal training routines every hour and a half. Without it, it would be a matter of chance whether there is a spectacular performance, feeding or animal work while we are with that animal. So, knowing the times, everyone can choose which events they want to attend.

One of the many adventure programmes is the feeding time with Harbor seals and African penguins. Of course, animals are not only given food; feeding is also a good time for the carer to deal with each of them personally. Penguins, however, need to be monitored in any case for whether all team members have eaten enough, and Harbor seals are regularly trained by our staff. This enrichment activity is also a good programme for the animal, a great activity for them. It also makes it easier to deal with them, for example, during a veterinary examination; regularly trained animals are much more cooperative. Not to mention that training is an interesting attraction for the public, and so there are always many admirers of how smart and cooperative seals are.

The penguins and seals in the feeding display are linked to each other because these animals can be seen at our Zoo in a shared runway and pool. Of course, this is only possible with Harbor seals, because the sea-lions that we also see (who also have training and sight feeding) may not be kept with the penguins.

As far as penguins are concerned, it is worth mentioning that, at this time of the year, you do not need to worry about them during times of extreme heat. We highlight this since we receive lots of emails and phone calls because of this. It needs to be known, however, that in our Zoo there are penguins of different species, native to the southern coast of Africa, where it is much warmer in the summer than in Hungary, for example. Sure, they live close to the water everywhere in their motherland, but that's the case with us and they can drop into the pool at any time. We also provide shading sails along the shore and, if necessary, a mist gate.