Visitors' interaction with penguins in Dubai

A free-the-penguins campaign on Twitter waged by a handful of tweeters is missing the mark, says a Ski Dubai official on the heels of the Snow Penguins exhibit's opening at the indoor ski resort. Ski Dubai owners said 20 new penguin residents now living in Dubai were not taken from the wild and forced to live in unnatural surroundings. The birds, in fact, are part of a conservation breeding programme at SeaWorld in San Antonio, Texas, where the third-generation penguins were born and raised in captivity and have spent their entire lives under human care before their airplane-assisted migration to Dubai. "The snow penguins at Ski Dubai have been hatched and raised in the care of humans, along with their parents and grandparents, as part of a multi-generational, international breeding programme at Seaworld in San Antonio, Texas," said Omar Al Banna, marketing and sales director, Majid Al Futtaim Leisure & Entertainment. Unique encounter "Ski Dubai developed the Snow Penguins programme because our environment is a good fit with the natural climate of these birds, and enables our guests to have a unique and educational encounter with penguins, while raising awareness about these remarkable birds," he told Gulf News yesterday. But, despite assurances the birds are not suffering and are now living in conditions replicating their natural Antarctic ecosystem, some tweeters are still not convinced as their posts on #freethepenguins on Twitter in recent days showed. One Twitter subscriber wrote: "Twenty penguins flown in to Dubai so they can be gawked at in a manmade snow dome… something is not right here." Another subscriber lamented that the penguins "are not made to be touched by humans and pose as photo models all day long!" Al Banna, however, said that encounters between the paying public and the colony of ten king and ten gentoo penguins are heavily supervised by staff to keep the birds safe. Behaviourists consulted "There are always multiple trainers on-site during the encounters to brief guests about the snow penguins, their natural habitat and the importance of global conservation efforts, while also maintaining the safety of the birds at all times," Al Banna said. "The encounter programme has been created in conjunction with animal behaviourists, conservationists and passionate animal specialists and ensures that the birds are never made to do anything, but rather are free to participate depending on their willingness." Keith Wilson, marine programme director at UAE-based Emirates Marine Environmental Group (EMEG), said the birds were born and raised in captivity and are living in below-zero temperatures that mimic natural conditions. ‘Nothing controversial' "If they're keeping them in a suitable cold atmosphere, there's nothing controversial, it's okay," Wilson told Gulf News. Likening the penguins to pets, he said if they are cared for, fed well and given the right enclosure, all should go swimmingly for the new Dubai arrivals. "If you give them space and a cool climate, then I don't see this as a problem," Wilson said. "Penguins have plenty of things to do, jump in the water or play in the snow. In a group of 20, they should be reasonably content." On opening day, Ski Dubai bird handlers told Gulf News that there will be a daily exercise dubbed the March of the Penguins, where the birds will be given exclusive access to the 20,000 square-metre ski hill. Dubai Officials of Texas-based Seaworld that reared the group of penguins on show in Ski Dubai have confirmed that the birds are, in fact, not wild animals. The ten king penguins and ten gentoo penguins were raised inside SeaWorld's facilities and have never known what it's like to live in the landscape of the Antarctic. "All penguins that were transported to Dubai were hatched at SeaWorld San Antonio," SeaWorld spokesman Brian Carter told Gulf News from San Antonio. The fact that the penguins are bred and born in captivity is key as compared to other major protests by the public in Dubai such as the Free Sammy campaign, for example, in which a 4.5-metre-long whaleshark was captured and kept in the Atlantis Hotel aquarium for 18 months. Sammy finally checked out of her five-star home in March 2010 and returned to her life in the wild. Back at Ski Dubai, meanwhile, the private quarters and ice-water swimming pool designed for the penguins is in keeping with efforts to make the penguins comfortable in their new homes, Carter said. "Animals living in aquariums, marine life parks, and zoos are ambassadors for their species. SeaWorld provides our animals with care above and beyond those mandated by our accrediting and governing organisations," Carter said. "SeaWorld worked very closely with Ski Dubai to ensure that the penguins' new home and caretaking were suitable for the animals. SeaWorld shared our knowledge of decades of penguin care with Ski Dubai." Unusual presence The Ski Dubai live penguins exhibit is more than just a commercial venture, he said. Educating young people to respect and help the environment as they grow older is at the heart of the unusual presence of Antarctic-based species in the Arabian desert. "Our partnership with Ski Dubai supports our core purpose to connect people with natural world we share," Carter said. "With these penguins now in Dubai, a new part of the world can connect with these wonderful creatures and be inspired to help conserve them.