Tulsa Zoo’s Youngest African Penguin Goes For First Swim!
Featured Image Credit: Tulsa Zoo
By: Sarah Sharkey
The youngest African penguin at the Tulsa Zoo recently went for its very first swim! You can watch the adorable video below. The chick was born on January 17th and went for its first swim in late March.
At only two months old, zookeepers are still unsure if the chick is a male or a female. It is simply too early to tell easily from an external look and it is too soon to do any examinations of this relatively fragile chick. The officials at the zoo will be sending off the chicks DNA samples to determine if it is a male or a female in the near future. The general guess from the zoo so far is that it is a she. However, that is just a guess that might be confirmed by the DNA sample.
The chick’s first swim was under careful supervision by both its parents and zoo staff. The young chicks do not have the same water resistant feathers that allow its parents to swim so smoothly in the water.
By all accounts, the chick is doing well. The combined efforts of its parents, Keppy and Rogue, and the zoo staff are ensuring that this little chick is raised happy and healthy.
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