ZooBorns

Chester Zoo's Penguin Chicks Named After TV Icons

A clutch of four Humboldt Penguin chicks hatched at the United Kingdom’s Chester Zoo have been named after characters from the British science fiction TV show Doctor Who, which celebrates its 50^th anniversary this year. 

The first of the chicks, which hatched on April 17, was named Doctor.  The next three chicks are named Tardis, Davros and Dalek.

Photo Credit: Chester Zoo

Zoo keepers are providing intense daily care to the four chicks, including daily weigh-ins to make sure the chicks are getting enough food from their parents.  Keeper Karen Neech said, “With extra mouths to feed a lot more food is required, so it’s a busy time for both us and the adult Penguins.  We provide the parents with fish and they then turn it into a high-protein soup, which they then regurgitate to feed to the chicks.” 

Humboldt Penguins are native to the coastal areas of Peru and Chile and are named for the chilly Humboldt ocean current in which they swim. They are listed as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. 

Read and see more below the fold.

Penguin Chick is a First for Minnesota Zoo

An endangered African Penguin chick hatched at the Minnesota Zoo on March 2 – the first in the zoo’s history.  The chick, whose gender is not yet known, is being raised behind-the-scenes by Penguin foster parents.  The biological parents were not incubating the egg consistently so the egg was placed with this experienced pair.  

The photos below showcase the chick’s rapid growth. From top to bottom, the chick is one day, three days, five days, 12 days, and 16 days old.  The chick has grown from 2.4 ounces to over 1 pound, 6 ounces in that time span. The chick will eventually become an ambassador for its species in the Minnesota Zoo’s education programs.

Photo Credits:  MIinnesota Zoo

 

African Penguins live and nest on the southwest coast of Africa, where they consume nearly 15% of their body weight in fish such as anchovies, sardines, and herring each day.  Large-scale commercial fisheries, oil spills, and habitat destruction have killed 80% of the African Penguin population in the last 50 years. 

Catastrophic food shortages, thought to be caused by climate change which has shifted fish populations further away from the coast, have accelerated the decline in the global population by forcing adults to abandon their nests and chicks.

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Two African Penguins Hatch at Mystic Aquarium

Two African Penguins Hatch at Mystic Aquarium

Connecticut’s Mystic Aquarium announced the recent hatching of two African Penguin chicks.  The chicks hatched on February 1 and February 10 and are growing quickly.  The younger chick weighs 281 grams, and the older chick weighs 696 grams, demonstrating the exponential growth seen in the first few weeks of a Penguin chick’s life.

Photo Credits: Mystic Aquarium

During the first 40 days of life, Penguin chicks cannot maintain their body heat, so they stay warm by tucking underneath their parents.  When the very vocal chicks announce that they’re hungry, mom and dad oblige by offering food.  Once the chicks are weaned at about 50 days old, keepers will begin training the chicks to accept food from their hands.  You can watch all the action on the aquarium’s African Penguin webcam.  

The chicks will fledge at 75 to 100 days of age.  At that time, their fluffy down will be replaced with the brown and white feathers of juvenile Penguins, and they’ll be introduced to the 26 adult Penguins in the flock.  The chicks’ genders will be determined using a DNA test when they’re about six months old.   

African Penguins are an endangered species, and their breeding is managed by the Species Survival Plan, a cooperative breeding program of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

See more photos below the fold.

A Great Season for Penguins at SeaWorld San Antonio

A Gentoo Penguin chick.

Texas' SeaWorld San Antonio celebrated another record-breaking penguin breeding season, with a total of 31 Gentoo, Chinstrap and Rockhopper Penguin chicks hatching in December and January.

The breeding season at SeaWorld San Antonio begins each year in September, as aviculturists haul in over 7 tons of rocks by the bucket load to form three distinct rookeries, or penguin nesting areas. Highly monogamous, Gentoo, Chinstrap and Rockhopper Penguins typically return to the exact same nesting location, with the same mate, year after year. 

From left to right: Rockhopper, Chinstrap and Gentoo Penguin chicks.

A Chinstrap Penguin parent feed a chick. Photo Credits: Seaworld San Antonio

Most of the chicks hatched were incubated by their parents, although foster parents and incubators were utilized when necessary. Because penguins lay their eggs in rocky nests, the shells of the eggs are especially thick and protective. It can take chicks several days to hatch, so aviculturalists keep an eye on the little ones as they peck their way out of those tough eggs. 

Right after hatching, the exhausted chicks rest and gain warmth from their parents. After about twenty-four hours, the chicks gain an appetite and both parents take turns regurgitating fish for their young. 

The chicks spend their first few weeks of life being kept warm and safe by both parents, who share in the duties of brooding and feeding their youngsters.  Aviculturists carefully monitor all penguin families, and take frequent weights of chicks to ensure healthy growth.

Read more about penguins after the fold!

African Black-Footed Penguin Growing Up Quickly at the Adventure Aquarium

Adventure Aquarium's penguin colony grew by one last month when they welcomed an African Black-Footed Penguin chick on January 11th. The little critter, whose gender is still unknown, was about the size of a golf ball and weighted just sixty grams when it first hatched. That did not last long however, as the little one is growing faster than keepers can keep track. By January 25th, just two weeks after pecking its way out of its egg, the chick had already exploded to a weight of over one and a quarter pounds and now stands over six inches tall.

The baby is the first for parents Kali and Tyson who were paired for breeding by the Association of Zoo and Aquarium's (AZA) African Penguin Species Survival Plan (SSP). They have a tall order caring for their rapidly growing first-born who is dependent on them for warmth until it can regulate its own temperature at around one month old. Until then, Kali and Tyson will take turns incubating the baby and brining back food for their growing child.

The African Black-Footed Penguin, the only penguin species found in Africa, was once quite abundant with an estimated four million in existence at the beginning of the 20th century. That number dropped dramatically to 200,000 by the year 2000 and has continued to fall to an estimated 55,000 living today. This rapid decline has led to a classification of endangered on the IUCN's Red List. It is estimated that if this trend continues the species will be extinct in the next fifteen years. With such a imperiled future, every birth can be considered a victory.

Penguin Baby Boom at Seneca Park Zoo

The African Black-footed Penguin flock at the Seneca Park Zoo grew by five chicks in the past month. October through April is the peak nesting season and these tiny additions need lots of help from their caretakers.  The Penguins pictured here range from one day to 18 days old.

On top of the normal two feedings a day, parents who are rearing chicks are offered extra fish daily. Zoo keepers diligently record fish intake, making sure each parent has enough to sustain themselves as well as their offspring. Every other day (from hatch to day 80 – when chicks are weaned from their parents) the Penguin chicks are weighed. If at any time a chick falls below an acceptable weight, night feedings are incorporated into the program.

Photo Credit: Photo 1, Kelli O’Brien, Photo 2,3,4: Kara Masaschi

On the days chicks are weighed, keepers also perform a mini physical exam: eyes should be bright and free of discharge, the chick should be vocal and alert, and after a couple of weeks they should be relatively mobile. Just as they would in the wild, parents do all the work, from the moment the egg is laid until the chick is weaned. That said, keepers are the first line of defense if something doesn’t seem quite right within these first, fragile few weeks of life.

In 2010, the African Black-footed Penguin was listed as an endangered species. In the early 1900s, the wild population was estimated at more than 1.5 million individuals. Today about 20,000 birds remain, with a 60% loss of population within the past 30 years. This is largely due to food base declines, competition with the fishing industry and Cape fur seals, as well as a major shift in prey due to changes in their ecosystem. Habitat destruction and oil spills have also contributed greatly to the decline in the African Black-footed Penguin population.

In an effort aimed to help their species, the Penguins at Seneca Park Zoo are carefully managed by a Species Survival Program (SSP). This program is a collaborative effort among AZA accredited zoos and aquariums in North America to breed the most genetically diverse population of this Penguin species.

 

Now There's Three Little Penguin Chicks at Moody Gardens!

Photo Credit: Moody Gardens

Another little Penguin chick has hatched at Moody Gardens, making him the third baby this season for parents Ren and Garfield. You may have read about the first two, who were born on Thanksgiving Day, a few weeks ago on Zooborns. 

This new baby Gentoo Penguin came into the family earlier this week, and currently weighs 221 grams. And he's growing fast. Here you can watch him along with sibling Quinn and Raye, a must-see video. 

Adult Gentoo Penguins have distinctive white patches above the eye area and white speckling in the adjacent black plumage around their heads. They also have yellow feet, making them unique in the Moody Gardens collection. These new additions made it the eighth straight year that Moody Gardens has successfully bred a Gentoo Penguin. 

Penguin Chick Growing Fast at the Little Rock Zoo

An endangered African Black-Footed Penguin chick at the Little Rock Zoo is on a mission – to eat, eat, and eat so he can grow, grow, and grow!  So far, the strategy is working.  This little chick, who weighed just 2 ounces (54 grams) at two days old (top photo), now weighs more than a pound (450 grams) at five weeks of age (bottom photo).

Like many young birds, Penguin chicks eat huge amounts of food in relation to their body weight and grow rapidly.  This allows the chicks to become self-sufficient at a young age, relieving mom and dad of the burden of constant feedings. 

The zoo’s new arrival is the first chick for parents Skipper and Easy.  He does not yet have a name.   The chick’s arrival increases the zoo’s Penguin flock to 16 birds.

African Black-Footed Penguins are native to the rocky coastlines of southern Africa and nearby islands.  African Penguins once numbered more than 1.5 million, but there are fewer than 200,000 birds today.  The harvesting of Penguin eggs, loss of habitat, and repeated oil spills have taken a toll on the population, and the African Penguin is now considered endangered.

Photo Credits:  Hannah baker (top), Stephanie Hollister (center), Little Rock Zoo (bottom)

First Penguins of the Season Hatch on Thanksgiving Day at Moody Gardens

The staff of Moody Gardens in Texas had two new reasons to be thankful with the hatching of two Gentoo Penguin chicks during Thanksgiving weekend. Their parents, like all the Penguins in the collection, are identified by number-to-document statistics. Technically 404 and 415, the parents go by the names Stimpy and Porky. They've had chicks in the past but these two are the first of the season.

"We discovered the new chick at approximately 9:00 a.m. on Thanksgiving day,” said Moody Gardens biologist Hector Morale. “As we were changing light bulbs and cleaning inside the exhibit, the parents stood up and we found the chick tucked beneath them in the nest.” The next day, staff noticed the second egg.

Photo Credit: Moody Gardens

The Penguins currently weigh in at 165 and 344 grams. Tests will be taken at a later date to determine their gender. Penguin chicks grow fast and will become full-grown in just eight weeks. The new chicks will be named in a Moody Gardens’ Facebook fan page contest launched yesterday. Click that link if you'd like to particiapte. In the mean time, you can watch the penguins on the Live Penguin Cam, if you aren't able to visit in person.

Read more about Penguins after the fols!

New Penguin Chick at Perth Zoo Growing Up Fast!

This little Penguin chick hatched at Perth Zoo on July 29. Its parents took turns sitting on the egg and caring for the chick in their burrow. And once it hatched, they provided excellent care; the chick grew very quickly, weighing over 1 kg by the time it was five weeks old. These photos were taken weekly, starting on July 20 when the chick was one day old, ending at the age of five weeks. Very soon the chick will emerge from the burrow, ready to take its first swim! Its sex is still not known. 

Penguins are found around the southern coast of Australia and around New Zealand. While listed as Least Concern by the IUCN Red List, they are threatened by changes to their coastal environments, predation by dogs, cats, foxes and rats, and become entangled in discarded fishing line and plastic bags. Perth Zoo is part of a regional breeding program for the species and has had many successful births over the years. 

Photo Credit: Perth Zoo