John Ball Zoo’s Chester the penguin competing for national glory during March Madness
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — As the country gets set for another March Madness, one John Ball Zoo penguin is already in the midst of it.
Chester, a Magellanic penguin, is squaring off against a penguin named Friend from the Jacksonville (Florida) Zoo and Garden in March of the Penguin Madness. The event pits flightless birds across the country against each other to see who can be crowned the top penguin.
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The competition is held by Penguin International. There are 47 birds in total that will compete in this year’s tournament. It will run like a college basketball tournament. Over the next five weeks, penguins will move on if they get enough votes online. The first round begins March 17.
“Chester has experience and knows what it takes to win,” David Blaszkiewicz, a senior zookeeper at John Ball Zoo, said in a statement. “He’s known for his swift speed at tip-off to capture his vitamin herring before any of the other penguins. Then he backs out beyond the arc, ready to catch the rest of his food thrown to him at a distance.”
Chester, who turns 33 in May, is the oldest penguin at the zoo. He stands at 2 feet tall and weighs just over 8 pounds. He came to the zoo in 2002 after spending time at Seaworld. He survived a suspected stroke in 2022, but has made a speedy recovery, according to the zoo. He now has a girlfriend, Erin, and the zoo says the two penguins are “an adorable power couple.”
Chester and Friend’s matchup will be decided March 19. The overall winner of the tournament will be announced April 19. You can vote for Chester throughout the tournament by clicking here, going to Penguin International’s Facebook page and their Instagram stories.
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