This special Field Talk will take you to the coast of South Africa and Namibia, the native range for endangered African penguins. We welcome Zoo staff member Jess Phillips, as he speaks on African penguin conservation efforts both here, and in Africa.

The majority of conservation attention has focused on South African penguin populations, but Phillips has been working to change this. In this Field Talk, Phillips will discuss his work in helping to develop a not-for-profit organization in Namibia that is dedicated to the protection of African penguins. He has traveled multiple times to South Africa and Namibia to take part in the planning for NAMCOB: the Namibian Foundation for the Conservation of Seabirds. The Maryland Zoo is a founding member of this new non-governmental organization, along with SANCCOB, the Debmarine-Namdeb Foundation, Namibian Chamber of Environment, Namibia Nature Foundation, and the Namibia-based African Penguin Conservation Project.

Tickets:

  • This event is FREE, but registration is required.

Register

Additional donations on event night are encouraged to support the Maryland Zoo’s involvement in African penguin conservation projects.

Can’t make it in person? Tune in virtually on Zoom Webinar: https://marylandzoo-org.zoom.us/j/81253803046

More about featured speaker, Jess Phillips:

selfie with penguins on a beach in the background

Jess Phillips is the Maryland Zoo’s Director of Animal Facilities, and vice-coordinator of the AZA SAFE African Penguin Project, and coordinator of its Disaster Preparedness and Response Projects.

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