Gentoo Penguin Chicks Hatch In the Zoo's Aviary

(February 2011)

Zookeepers weigh the first chick hatched at 92.6 grams
Zookeepers weigh the first chick, hatched at 92.6 grams.
(Photo by Aviary Zookeeper, Caty Poggenburg)

Recent photo of first chick hatched
Recent photo of first chick hatched

The Zoo is proud to announce that two Gentoo penguins have hatched to two different pairs of parents. On February 14, the first chick, hatched to first-time parents, Daphne and Oscar, celebrated its one-month birthday. The second chick hatched January 20 to Felix and Olive, also first-time parents. Both chicks are doing well and taking food from their parents.

The first chick weighed 92.6 grams at hatching, and as of January 17, weighed a healthy 165.8 grams. The second chick was 90.5 grams at hatching, and on January 29 was 253 grams.

Both sets of parents are tending to the chicks. After Gentoo penguins hatch, they stay in their nests for about one month. After three months, these chicks will grow their adult feathers, and in the wild, would be able to survive on their own.

This marks the first chick hatching for this Gentoo penguin colony, which came to the Zoo in April 2009.

In the wild, Gentoo penguins are found on many of the islands of the Antarctic region, but the main colonies reside on the Falklands. There are approximately 300,000 breeding pairs on the islands.