In a quest to be crowned the 2025 Penguin Champion, 48 penguins representing 12 different species have been nominated from zookeepers and aquarists around the world eager to go head-to-head in Penguins International’s Annual March of the Penguin Madness competition. This light-hearted contest helps raise global awareness of all penguin species, including African penguins, Humboldt penguins, Magellanic penguins, King penguins, Chinstrap penguins, Gentoo penguins, Northern Rockhopper penguins, Southern Rockhopper penguins, Macaroni penguins and Little Blue penguins. Now, the time has come for another penguin champion to emerge!
Gentoo penguin, Brian, is this year’s nominee for The Deep, and they need your help to vote for him! As the eldest penguin in the colony, Brian remains a firm favourite among visitors and is the only penguin to have received a birthday card from a visitor! He's got a huge personality, a very particular taste in food, and a colourful love life. Even as the eldest in the colony, Brian is truly a fabulous and crucial ambassador for his species!
The public will be able to vote for their favourite penguin utilising Penguin International’s website as well as on social media. The first round of voting will open on March 17th 2025, where polls are announced and opened for a 48-hour voting period to allow for people around the world to cast their ballot. Penguins that make it through each round continue on each week, until only one penguin is crowned the 'Peng Win Champion'!
Katie Propp, the Chief Operations Officer at Penguins International, stated:
“We want to highlight penguins in zoos and aquariums that serve as ambassadors to their species.”
“Wild penguins continue to face numerous threats, as demonstrated by the uplisting of African Penguins from ‘Endangered’ to ‘Critically Endangered’ last October."
"Penguin ambassadors at zoos and aquariums inspire guests to want to save their wild counterparts which is why the awareness aspect of this competition is so important.”
Swim across to The Deep’s social media channels to be ready for March 17th, when the first round of voting will open! Brian is in Division 5, up against Ike from ABQ BioPark Zoo!
Notes for Editors:
Penguins International
Penguins International is a 501c3 non-profit organization based in Denver, Colorado, USA. Founded in 2017 their mission is to protect penguins, to protect the planet! This mission is accomplished by actively engaging in penguin conservation projects to advance knowledge and understanding of penguins through scientific research, and to promote awareness of threats to penguins through conservation education programs. Currently, 9 out of 18 species of penguins are threatened with extinction. Penguins are marine sentinels and indicators of ocean health and Penguins International programs and events are designed to protect them for future generations to enjoy.