Four Brand New Chicks Will Make Their Debut At The Minnesota Zoo

Featured Image Credit: Minnesota Zoo
By Sarah Sharkey

Four African penguin chicks are almost ready for their debut in public society at the Minnesota Zoo. The chicks hatched between three and four months ago. The young chicks have already lost most of their down feathers and begun to replace it with tightly packed waterproof feathers. They are taking swimming lessons with their parents. In addition, they are getting used to humans, which is vitally important if you live in an exhibit.

Image Credit: Minnesota Zoo

The curator of birds for the zoo, Jamie Toste, said “We expect they’ll be out in their habitat over the weekend. Next week, at the latest.” Although an exact date has not been set, you should be on the lookout for these four female chicks soon.

African penguins who live in exhibits will continue to be vitally important if the wild population continues to shrink. Over the past 50 years, the wild African penguin population has dropped by 80 percent. That is a shockingly high statistic, but it is a true one. The biggest factor in their decline is the overfishing of sardines, their most important food source. There are only about 25,000 mating pairs left in the wild, so the future of the species may be in jeopardy.

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