Mr. Greedy, Oldest African Penguin at Maryland Zoo, has Died at 33

By Kyle Swenson / The Washington Post

14:55 JST, September 7, 2024

After a celebrated, decades-long career as one of North America’s most reproductively successful members of an endangered species, African penguin No. 821 – known fondly as Mr. Greedy – has passed away, the Maryland Zoo said this week.

Mr. Greedy, 33, was the backbone of the zoo’s Penguin Coast, an attraction that features the largest colony of endangered African penguins in North America. The cause of death was euthanasia due to age-related decline, according to Jen Kottyan, the Maryland Zoo’s bird curator.

His life stretched well beyond an African penguin’s median life expectancy of 18 years. At the time of his death, he was the oldest penguin at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. He leaves behind a genetic footprint that is significant to the long-term survival of his species.

Through five U.S. presidential administrations, through Sept. 11, the invasion of Afghanistan and the toppling of Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, through the release of the iPhone and the debut of “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” Mr. Greedy sired an impressive 230 descendants through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums African Penguin Species Survival Plan.

The program aims to preserve the African penguin’s genetic pool by pairing penguins in captivity for breeding. The wild population, native to the coasts of South Africa and Namibia, has declined by 90 percent since 1900. According to Kottyan, the birds have been decimated by overfishing, oil spills and a loss of natural habitat.

“If these birds do face extinction in the wild, which it looks like they will, we will be able to send eggs from this program back to Africa,” said Kottyan, who also serves as a program leader for the African Penguin Species Survival Plan. Many of those eggs will be carrying a part of Mr. Greedy.

Mr. Greedy is survived by his lifelong mate, African penguin No. 832, known as Mrs. Greedy. She is now the oldest penguin in the Maryland Zoo’s colony at 33.

The couple both came to the Maryland Zoo in 1992 after hatching the year before. Two years later, they were paired as they reached reproductive age. Although zookeepers typically swap penguin partners over time to diversify the genetic pool, Mr. and Mrs. Greedy were never separated because of their success as mates.

“They’ve had a huge success rate with offspring,” Kottyan said. “They were such a good pair, solid and reliable.”

The Greedys created the foundation for the program’s genetic pool of offspring, which now reside in zoos across the country. Their oldest is 28 years old. A few are scattered among the Maryland Zoo’s penguins, including Olive, a fifth-generation decedent.

Mr. Greedy’s nickname came from his behavior when he arrived at the zoo, Kottyan said. The then-young penguin was “assertive,” she said, aggressively collecting nesting material and fish from the other birds. “He was a go-getter,” she said. And because Mrs. Greedy was paired with him, “she was guilty by association.”

Maryland Zoo staff members can’t help but feel Mr. Greedy’s loss, even though they try to keep a scientific distance.

“We don’t treat these guys as pets – these aren’t your cats or dogs at home,” Kottyan said. “We have been successful with the breeding program because we don’t make bonds and can be hands-off.”

But, she added: “This particular penguin was such a significant part of the zoo’s history, it’s hard not to feel something about it.”

Mrs. Greedy may find a new partner, Kottyan said. “We are watching her really closely,” she said. “Some penguins that lose a mate, they want to re-mate right away. If she starts showing signs that she’s stressed, we have single males we can pair her with. It’s only been a week.”