By Natalie Morales
Enquirer staff writer

NEWPORT - Dressed in their best black tuxedos, seven penguins will soon be added to the exhibit at the Newport Aquarium.

The five male and two female Gentoo penguins will join the exhibit at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.

The aquarium, at Newport on the Levee, purchased the Gentoos from the Ohio Six Flags Worlds Adventure theme park after it closed, said Jill Isaacs, the aquarium's public relations manager.

For the past 45 days, the penguins have been kept in quarantine to ensure they would not infect the current penguins with any illnesses, she said.

There is no rivalry expected between the new penguins and the current 10 King and seven Gentoo penguins that are housed in the exhibit. Penguins live in colonies and will be excited to see more birds added to their group, said Ric Urban, curator of the rainforest exhibit and the aquarium's penguin expert.

The male population among the exhibit's current Gentoo penguins is lower than that of the females, so the aquarium is trying to make the numbers more equal, Urban said.

Penguins choose their lifetime mates, and without a nearly equal number of male and female penguins, Urban said, the birds' environment can be offset. None of the aquarium's penguins have had babies.

"When you have an odd ratio of males to females, it throws off the dynamics," he said. "At least if we have the environment balanced there will be a better chance for success."

The penguins in an environment that imitates winter. The new Gentoos will be just in time for breeding season in September and October, Urban said.

The seven additions will bring the aquarium's penguin total to 24.

The exhibit is big enough to house 10 to 20 more penguins, and the aquarium hopes to see offspring next year, Urban said.