Huffington Post — How SeaWorld keeps the body clocks of its Antarctic penguins on South Pole Time

Jim Hill

11 years ago

You know that
out-of-sync feeling you have for those first few days after Daylight Savings
Time? Where your internal body clock is telling you that it's one time while
the light levels outside are telling you that it's an entirely different time?

Well, then imagine how tough it must be to be an Antarctic
penguin on display in Orlando.
Where — because you're now living in the Northern Hemisphere rather than the
Southern — you're a full six months out-of-sync. And because the light outside
is telling you that it's Fall while your internal body clock is telling you
that it's Spring, you now don't know whether to mate or molt.

Well, back in 1983, the animal care specialists at SeaWorld
Parks & Entertainment recognized that being over 8,000 miles away from home
might be an issue for these aquatic, flightless birds. Which is why — when
they were building SeaWorld San Diego's Penguin Encounter exhibit some 30 years
ago — SeaWorld not only installed a ridiculously large air conditioning unit
(to keep this habitat at a brisk 30 degrees) but also hung an elaborate
lighting rig which then allowed them to replicate Antarctica's
seasonal light cycle.

Now you have to understand that no one in zoological circles
had ever done something like this before. Combining quartz halogen lights,
LEDS, metal halide lights, and theatrical sunset lamps to replicate
what the sunlight was supposed to be like in another part of the world.

Mind you, the folks at SeaWorld San Diego didn't stop there.
They then went on make daily adjustments to the Penguin Encounter's lightning
pattern. So that — for the flightless birds living in this exhibit space —
the sun would first rise and then set at the exact time as it would down at the
South Pole. They even made an effort to simulate Antarctica's
springtime light and wintertime dark.

As you might imagine, a behind-the-scene effort like this —
especially back in the early 1980s — was very hands-on. With the animal care
specialists at SeaWorld San Diego (not to mention the electricians who worked
at this theme park) constantly flipping switches, adjusting dimmers and
replacing light bulbs as they tried to get this habitat's light levels just
right.

Of course, there were those who wondered if all this extra
effort & expense would ever pay off. I mean, what could possibly be gained
by keeping the birds who were on display in Penguin Encounter on the exact same
light cycle as their natural counterparts down at the South Pole?

A lot, actually. According to the veterinarians who worked
at SeaWorld San Diego, once the aquatic, flightless birds were placed in sync
with their natural lighting cycle, there was a noticeable uptick in these penguins'
overall health & level of social engagement. Which perhaps explains the more
than 500 chicks have been hatched & raised in this habitat, including the
zoological world's first-ever emperor and chinstrap penguins.

Now jump ahead to 2010, when the folks at SeaWorld Parks
& Entertainment had just decided to build Antarctica:
Empire of the Penguin. This 4 acre addition to SeaWorld Orlando would the
largest in that theme park's history and would feature a high-tech ride, a
restaurant and a gift shop. But its real highlight would be the
6,125-square-foot habitat found at the very end of this attraction. Where nearly 250 penguins from
four different Antarctic species would then frolic inside of a 144,300-gallon
salt water tank.

And — of course — to help keep the aquatic, flightless
birds on display here healthy & happy, SeaWorld Orlando was going to do
just what SeaWorld San Diego had done with its Penguin Encounter exhibit back
in the early 1980s. It was going to try and replicate the exact seasonal light
conditions that are found down at the South Pole.

Now you have to understand that we've come an awfully long way from those old hand-adjusted
dimmers / light switch days at SeaWorld San Diego. For this new SeaWorld Orlando attraction, Lightswitch did
the overall lighting design for the ride itself, the penguin exhibit, the restaurant and the overall area) while Candela Controls installed & integrated much of the lighting. But at the very heart of the operation, it's not human beings who are now deciding what the appropriate light levels should be for this habitat. But — rather — it's a computer that now powers the Antarctica:
Empire of the Penguin's interior lighting system. And it's this computer's
programming that now adjusts the light levels in this SeaWorld Orlando habitat
on a daily basis to recreate natural sunrise-to-sunset as well as seasonal
light patterns.

More to the point: Though quartz halogen may have been used in previous penguin exhibits at SeaWorld parks, the new designs for these habitats are a lot more energy
efficient (at least from a lighting point-of-view) since these theme parks now only use metal halide, fluorescent and LED. In fact, one of the main reasons that SeaWorld uses metal halide & fluorescent light in these exhibits is to deliver the correct amount of UV for this flightless, aquatic birds.

And speaking of seasonal light patterns: When Antarctica:
Empire of the Penguin first opened back in May of this year, many visitors to
SeaWorld Orlando's newest addition were disappointed when they discovered how
low light levels were inside of this new habitat. Which — because of this
theme park's no-flash-photography-inside-of-animal-exhibits policy — made it
very difficult to get decent photographs of all the Gentoo, Adelie &
Rockhopper penguins on display there.

As you might expect, there was a reason that light levels
inside of Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin were kept so
low six months ago. You see, May is the South Pole's equivalent of November.
And given that it can be dark 20 hours a day during this time of year down in
the Antarctica … Well, that's why it was only SeaWorld Orlando visitors who
entered this habitat between 10:30 a.m. & 1:30 p.m. who got to see these
aquatic, flightless birds under full simulated sunlight conditions.

But the upside is — now that Spring has finally come to the
South Pole — the days are getting longer & longer inside of the Antarctica:
Empire of the Penguin exhibit. So anyone who visits SeaWorld Orlando in the
coming months will then be able to take advantage of the rapidly improving
light conditions and get far better pictures of the flightless birds on display
here.

Best of all, because it's now going to get darker sooner at
SeaWorld Orlando, visitors to this Central Florida theme
park will then get to see the elaborate architectural lighting that was created for this 4 acre area. Which then replicates many of the unique
& colorful lighting conditions that Antarctica explorers
encounter when they wander around the real version of this frozen wasteland.

But the downside is … Because it can then get downright
cool after the sun goes down in Orlando
these days, visitors to SeaWorld may not want to linger long enough to actually
see how these 50 foot-tall faux glaciers seemingly glow from within at night.
Especially if these people have just been inside Antarctica:
Empire of the Penguin's habitat. Where — thanks to the 5 tons of fake snow
that gets pumped into this exhibit daily — a person can get chilled to the
bone after just a few minutes of standing inside this frigid environment.

Photo by Nancy Stadler

Thankfully, all you have to do to escape this 30 degree display
is quickly step through a nearby revolving door. Where you'll then find
yourself in a much warmer environment standing in front of some
floor-to-ceiling windows. Which then allow you to view dozens of penguins
"flying" through the water inside of
this 16 foot-deep salt water tank.

Anyway … If you're one of those people who suffers from
SAD (i.e. Seasonal Affective Disorder. That mood disorder where people who have
normal mental health during the Spring & the Summer months suddenly find
themselves dealing with depression as Fall gives way to Winter), you can
perhaps take some comfort in knowing that there are penguins in Antarctica,
Orlando & San Diego who now have a bit more spring in their step because
Spring is finally arrived at the South Pole.