Waddle Watch

Ever wondered what a Sub-Antarctic penguin colony gets up to, especially when they think no-one’s looking? Now you can! We have brought back Tank TV, our 24/7 live stream with a new series affectionately known as “Waddle Watch”.

With the success of ‘Tank TV’, our first ever 24/7 live stream of the Great Barrier Reef exhibit which streamed for over 960 hours, we wanted to continue the fun, giving penguin lovers 24/7 access to their adorable Gentoo and King Penguins. These are the only two Sub-Antarctic species that call SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium home, with a total of 34 penguins in our colony. 

During the 24/7 live stream, viewers are up for a whole lot of fun and will have the chance to learn more about the penguin’s personalities and habits, and just how playful they can be. For example, the team conduct regular enrichment sessions to keep the penguins (and now viewers!) entertained. These sessions are important as they keep these incredibly inquisitive, intelligent animals motivated and stimulated inside the exhibit. Activities for them include new toys to play with, bubbles, playing soccer, building ice sculptures and creating new places for them to play.

“The penguins keepers here at SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium are very excited to share these beautiful birds with the public now 24 hours a day! You’ll be able to watch us maintain their amazing home with up to 4 tonnes of fresh snow blown out every morning and get to see us feed our King and Gentoo Penguins their breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. Look out for our fun enrichment sessions which happen at random times throughout the day,” said Laetitia Hannan, ZAA Gentoo Penguin Species Coordinator.

Viewers will also see the penguin keepers regularly cleaning the exhibit, and given that on average the penguins poop every 17 minutes – that’s a lot of mess!

Gentoo Penguins are the smaller penguins of the two species and grow between 50-70cm. King Penguins, apart from their size, are easily distinguished by the orange colouring on their chest and are the second largest species of penguin after the Emperor penguin. They grow between 70-100cm tall.   

A fun fact about their home here at SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium is the lighting in the exhibit mimics the natural light on Macquarie Island all year round. This means the penguins have a sunrise and sunset every day and also experience summer and winter. This is really important for the penguins so they know when to breed and when to go through their malting processes.

To tune in to Tank TV: Waddle Watch and see these adorable creatures from home right now

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