Yellow Left

Yellow Left, a Humboldt penguin who lives in the zoo’s penguinarium, is the proud father of 13 children and grandfather to 5. He is one of the zoo’s two remaining “founder” penguins, birds that were born in the wild and then brought to the zoo. Yellow Left came to the Oregon Zoo as a chick in the early 70's from the coast of Peru.

Although Yellow Left is nearly 95 percent blind and suffers from arthritis, he is still a very protective and attentive father.

“He is the best parent in the colony, including the females,” says Rick Yazzolino, penguin keeper. “Yellow Left is an amazing father, because he fights through the pain of his disabilities to help incubate, feed and raise his chicks. He’s a wonderful dad and deserves to be zoo dad of the year!”

Learn more about Humboldt Penguins.