Nine African penguins welcomed to Florida Aquarium

TAMPA, Fla. - Nine African penguins are settling into their new home at the Florida Aquarium. The latest addition to the Aquarium's colony to advance the genetic mission to save the species from extinction. 

The aquarium said populations of the African penguin have been rapidly declining due to a combination of threats. Expert said there's only about 40,000 to 50,000 left in the wild. 

"We chose the African penguins here to exhibit because they are an endangered species, so they are really important to highlight and really important for people to learn about," Megan Gentry, a singer Biologist with Florida Aquarium said.

Florida Aquarium has nine brand new African penguins after the mysterious death of their previous African penguins. 

All the penguins currently at the Florida Aquarium have come from breeding programs from other zoos and aquariums. The main goal is to achieve genetic diversity within the captive population to help stabilize the wild endangered population. 

"It's very fun to work with African penguins," Gentry said. "They are super quirky birds, they are fun, they are playful, they are goofy and every one of them has a different personality."