San Francisco Zoo welcomes first penguin chicks in three years
The San Francisco Zoo recently welcomed three Magellanic penguin chicks, the first successful hatching of these South American birds at the zoo in three years.
The zoo said in a press release on Friday that the three chicks were hatched nearly four weeks ago, and zookeepers attribute their long-awaited success to the decision to incubate and hand-rear the penguins, rather than let their penguin parents raise them.
"One of the key reasons is that it had been a few years since we've had chicks and some of the potential parents were not at the experience level we prefer. So basically, we decided to hand-rear them, which entails nearly 24-hour care in the beginning," Brice Smith, the zoo's assistant curator of birds said in a statement.
The SF Zoo's breeding colony of Magellanic penguins is the most successful in a zoo accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, hatching between two and five chicks each year since the late 1980s, according to zoo officials.
This year, after the death of a few penguins from old age or illness, the zoo secured approval to pair up penguin parents, said curator Quinn Brown.
"Breeding is highly strategic," said Brown. "Some of our pairs have been very successful, and some are not approved to breed as their genetics may be overrepresented in accredited facilities."
Native to the southern coast of South America with populations mostly hailing from Argentina, Chile and the Falkland Islands, Magellanic penguins are listed as Near Threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Zoo officials said that the three chicks are growing steadily and will continue to have their "fluff" for the next several weeks. In the meantime, they are being hand-fed, like the rest of the Penguin Island colony.
"When they've matured a bit more, we will start teaching them how to swim," said Smith. "They are a little awkward, but get the hang of things easily."
Staff plans to introduce the chicks to the rest of the Penguin Island residents later this summer, when SF Zoo hosts its "March of the Penguins" event for zoo members.
