The Maryland Zoo and Peabody Heights Brewery collaborated on a new pale ale: Sweet Pea’s Promise.
The beer is named after the zoo’s African penguin chick, “Peabody,” also affectionately known as “Sweet Pea” by her keepers. It commemorates the 10th anniversary of the zoo’s Penguin Coast habitat.
“The partnership with Peabody Heights Brewery helps us breed new chicks in Maryland and support their cousins’ survival in the wild,” said Kirby Fowler, president of Maryland Zoo, in a statement.
The Maryland Zoo is a habitat for African penguins and has bred over 1,000 chicks. These penguins are popular attractions for visitors, but there is a possibility that penguins of this kind could become extinct in the next 10 years, according to the Maryland Zoo.
Penguin colonies are subject to ocean pollution and often compete with commercial seafood farmers to access their main food sources: fish, krill and squid.
To care for these penguins, the zoo’s Penguin Coast habitat models fishing villages along the western coast of South Africa and Namibia, where the penguins roam in the wild.
Proceeds from the sale of each Sweet Pea’s Promise will be donated for the continued support and conservation of the African penguin.
