A zebra crossing fit for penguins

See the penguins using their special crossing Enlarge Image

A Devon zoo has enlisted the help of the local council to construct a special crossing for its penguins.

The penguins at Torquay's Living Coasts are fed in a public area of the zoo.

So Torbay Council's road safety team has created a crossing on the public walkway to make it clear that is where the penguins cross at feeding time.

"It's hard to teach a penguin road safety and when they see the bucket and their keeper they do get excited," said the zoo's Tony Durkin.

"The zebra crossing does alert visitors to the fact that the birds cross there," he said.

The tiny black and white crossing is a scaled down version of a genuine zebra crossing and even has miniature red triangular warning signs complete with penguins.

The zoo's 80 African and macaroni penguins use the crossing twice a day at public feeding times.

Councillor Chris Lewis said the council was "delighted" to have worked in partnership with Living Coasts.