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.