Wild Wednesday: Nesting Season At The Tulsa Zoo's African Penguin Exhibit

There's quite a bit of activity along the beach in the African Penguin exhibit at the Tulsa Zoo.

It's nesting season as the different pairs begin to prepare to lay eggs.

The zoo has 3 breeding pairs who are busy picking out materials to take into their area to make the nest comfortable.

"In the wild, African penguins are nesting underground. They nest anywhere they have a little cover... under a bush, under an overturned wheelbarrow. Whatever they can find honestly, that's what they nest in. But they like to have soft things in their nests," said Penguin Keeper Seana Flossic. "Our penguins have a lot of rocks on the beach so they pick up those and carry those in. But they love it when they can find leafy type things so we give them some plastic plants but in the wild, like I said, anything they can grab, they'll carry into their nests."

At the Tulsa Zoo, there is a colony of 24 penguins.

At about 3-4 years of age, they begin to think about pairing. Oftentimes, they pair for life.

The 3 breeding pairs are Talulah and Lennie, Whitey and Sophie and Dassen and Ireland. They are very valuable to the population and if they have chicks, it will help the species survive.

They usually produce one to two eggs per clutch with incubation lasting about 38 days. Responsibility to incubate the eggs is shared equally between mom and dad.

So be looking for new chicks soon.