BOSTON — When Lambert began to lose his vision and slowed down several steps, it became clear that he needed to be moved to a place where he could age safely and still be with his friends.
But he could not be placed in any nursing home because he is an endangered African penguin. Instead, the New England Aquarium in Boston, where Lambert, 33, was born and lived his entire life, decided in February to open a geriatric island for him and six other aging penguins.
“Honestly, it started out as a joke. It was like, 'Well, why don't we give them a nursing home?'” said Eric Fox, assistant curator of penguins at the aquarium. “But the more we looked at their welfare data and realized what ailments they had, what physical limitations they had, we started to realize we were on to something.”
The rocky island near the aquarium's entrance is separated from the rest of the colony of 38 birds, ensuring the older penguins do not have to compete for territory with their often aggressive, younger peers. These penguins, with their signature black and white feathers, stand about 2 feet (0.6 meters) tall and weigh about the same as a large house cat.
The enclosure has flatter terrain and a carpeted path leading to the water, allowing Lambert and the other penguins to better navigate up and down the island. The aquarium built a stand in front of the island to make it easier for the penguins to jump out of the water.
As a result, Mia Lusietti, a senior penguin trainer at the aquarium, said she noticed Lambert became more active after moving to the new island, swimming more with his partner and leaving the island more often.
The concept was inspired by a larger problem facing zoos and aquariums around the world: what to do when their animals survive much longer than their counterparts in the wild. As for these African penguins, some of them are already in their 30s, and one lived to be 40 years old. This is twice as long as they could live in the wild in South Africa and Namibia due to threats such as pollution and food shortages due to human overfishing.
“It's very important that when we learned how long these animals could live if given the optimal environment, we evolved with it,” Lusietti said.
“So exploring on an individual level how we can best prepare our animals for success really led to the idea of creating our geriatric island, a place where our oldest penguins live a more comfortable, slower lifestyle, living out their days here,” she added.
Caring for aging penguins goes far beyond the safety of an enclosure.
Older birds receive more checkups than their younger counterparts, and veterinarians offer them treatments for conditions that may be familiar to older birds, such as supplements and anti-inflammatory drugs for arthritis and joint pain, and eye drops for glaucoma. There are also more cameras around the island so staff can better monitor the birds.
“We're just keeping a close eye on some of these older birds,” Lusietti said. “It's important that we take this into account – from the way someone's hips move, the way they walk, the way they act, whether someone squints. The slightest daily changes can hide a really big secret.”
Recently, Lusietti was in the geriatric enclosure caring for Lambert, who seemed content to stand on top of the island with his companion Dyer III, preening with each other and occasionally letting out a loud cry similar to the braying of a donkey. He previously had his left eye removed due to infection, and has glaucoma in his right eye. He also suffers from chronic inflammation.
Lusietti coaxed him down from his perch, and soon he was sitting on her lap, preparing to take his daily dose of eye drops.
A crowd gathered around the enclosure to watch, including Terri Blessman, a 69-year-old tourist from Canton, Ill., who was pushed in a wheelchair by her friend Lou Ann DeLost. After hearing about Lambert's age and the care he receives, Blessman said she could relate.
“It's wonderful,” Blessman said. “All of us older people need extra care as we get older.”
