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| Photo Credit: ebird.org. |
The oldest Magellanic penguin died Wednesday at San Francisco Zoo & Gardens at the age of 40, The Hill quoted a zoo report. The estimated age of the male, called Captain Eo, was well over the average life expectancy of 20 to 30 years for the species, the zoo reported.
Captain Eo
had lost much of his eyesight and needed special feeding techniques, the zoo
said of the animal named for a 1980s Michael Jackson short film that was a
Disneyland attraction.
According to
The Hill, Captain Eo arrived the zoo in 1984 when 52 wild Magellanic penguins
were brought in to found the colony on Penguin Island. The habitat includes a
large outdoor pool along with burrows and rocky landscapes to mimic their
native habitat, the zoo reportedly said.
Quinn Brown,
the zoo’s assistant curator of birds said in a statement that Captain Eo had
the personality of “an older sophisticated gentleman,” according to The Hill.
“He did not
partake in the usual shenanigans of stealing fish from others, or pushing his
way through the crowd for fish. Instead, he would quietly and politely sit on
the rocky beach and wait his turn for his meal, then go out for a swim or
home,” Brown said. “He was one-of-a-kind. “
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| Photo Credit: AP. |
Captain Eo
had 26 children, 31 grandchildren and eight great grandchildren, the zoo
reportedly said
“While we
will never have the honor of embracing and connecting with Captain in this way
again, he will always have a monumental place in our hearts,” Brown said. “He
represented a part of San Francisco Zoo history and the penguin world that
cannot ever be forgotten.”
The Hill
reported that Magellanic penguin are native to South America and can grow more
than 2 feet (60 centimeters) tall and weigh as much as 14 pounds (6.4
kilograms)