King penguin Grandma passed away in German zoo at record age | Abroad

She was by far the oldest king penguin in zoos worldwide, according to the German zoo. The record would now be held by a 37-year-old king penguin.

‘Oma’ came to Wuppertal in 1975 with eleven of her kind via the Netherlands, when she was at least 1 year old. The egg she came from was laid in the king penguin colonies in Antarctica, but hatched in South Africa. The twelve animals were one of the most successful penguin breeding groups in the world, according to the zoo.

Grey hairs

Grandma helped until she got an injection to raise the chicks in the zoo colony. In recent years, the ‘old lady’ did suffer from aging symptoms, such as a deformed beak, limited mobility and cataracts.

In the days before her death, Oma ate less and less and hardly moved, so the caretakers decided to euthanize her. Eighteen king penguins still waddle in the zoo.

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