You may have seen our superstar Frank on the news recently. Frank has shot to fame and was recently featured on BBC South Today, in the Daily Echo, and on Radio Solent!
Frank was competing in a competition called March of the Penguin Madness, which is run by Penguins International. Penguins International is a non-profit organization committed to preserving and protecting penguins throughout the world. The competition is a great way of communicating conservation efforts and educating the public on threats to penguins and what they can do to help.
Frank was shortlisted to the top 48 penguins in the world, who were then put into divisions which went to a public vote. Frank progressed through 5 rounds of the competition to place in the top 6 in the world and be voted the UK’s number one penguin for 2024.
We are incredibly proud of his achievements and all the work that was carried out by his keepers to show everyone how special Frank is to us here at Paultons.
Here’s a little bit more about Frank:
Frank is an 18-year-old Humboldt penguin
He was hatched at Birdworld, and moved to Paultons in 2016
His best friend is Storm, a 4-year-old Humboldt penguin, and they spend most of their days together on the island
He has arthritic hips but this doesn’t stop him from climbing the waterfall and jumping in the water!
Frank is the BEST diver at Paultons (even if it may look like a belly flop, he styles it out)
Frank is always first in line for food and enjoys a fish birthday cake every year to celebrate!
How would our penguin keeper, Kathryn, describe Frank?
“He’s very young at heart so he’s still very playful, chasing bubbles or chasing shadows. He’s very kind and a lovely character.”
Thank you to everyone who voted for Frank in this year’s competition, and we hope you can join us at Paultons to say hello to him very soon! Don’t forget you can join us for penguin talks every day to find out more about our penguins and the conservation work that we are involved with at Paultons.
