The first blackfooted penguin chick ever to be born on exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium is going to grooming school. After a very successful three weeks on exhibit, the chick went behind the scenes January 29 for its own safety, and to acclimate to people.
“The parents Umngane and Dassen have done a great job feeding and caring for the chick,” says Aimee Greenebaum, associate curator of aviculture. Since January 10, the chick has gone from 4 to almost 40 ounces.
Despite the parents’ doting, things were no longer safe for the chick on exhibit. “A young chick can’t swim, and it might fall in the water and be unable to get out,” says Aimee. “And as it starts to wander, other birds might become aggressive toward it. They tend to be very curious, and they can investigate by biting.”
There’s another important reason that the chick was separated from its parents and moved off exhibit: under the Association of Zoos and Aquarium’s Species Survival Plan, the chick has been designated as an “education bird,” to help raise awareness of the threats penguins face in the wild. As such, it needs to be comfortable around people and on exhibit.
“It needs to get used to being handled,” says Aimee. “To accomplish that, we need to be the ones feeding and caring for the chick—and the parents just won’t let us do that.”
The parents and chick had to be separated but “they get over it quickly,” says Aimee. “It’s out of sight, out of mind. Parents frequently lose chicks in the wild, and they’re genetically wired to move on.”
Life Behind the Scenes
The first order of business behind the scenes: get the chick accustomed to solid food (fish), instead of the regurgitated meals served up by Umngane and Dassen. “The transition to solid food takes a while,” says Aimee.
The aviculture team will feed the chick three to four times per day. They’ll also keep it very warm, in a small enclosure. “As it continues to grow, we’ll put it in a larger and larger holding area, and let it get used to the ambient temperature,” says Aimee. “We’ll also expose it to shallow water, so it can learn to swim. We want to ensure it can get in and out easily.
“Eventually we’ll spend more and more time with the chick, and start to touch and pick it up. We anticipate it will get very comfortable with us quite quickly.”
The Transition Back on Exhibit
At about 80 days (late March or early April) the chick will lose its downy feathers and have grown a waterproof coat. This is also the normal age for a chick to fledge (leave the nest without its parents). At this point, the chick will be gradually re-introduced to the exhibit.
“We’ll watch to ensure it’s not being picked on, and that it can safely swim and navigate the exhibit,” says Aimee. “This will happen under constant supervision.”
Although it will be a while until you can see the chick on exhibit again, we’ll be sure to keep you updated with photos and videos from behind the scenes.
“We’re really excited,” says Aimee. “We’ve enjoyed seeing the chick grow up—it’s changed dramatically every day, and it’s very cute. And of course, we appreciate the opportunity this bird is giving us. Everyone loves babies, and our hope is that it will inspire people to help penguins in the wild.”
Awww...how cute. My wife loves penguins so I just had to show her this. If you need any volunteers, I'm sure she'd jump at the chance to help acclimate the little guy to people. :)
DJ
Posted by: DJ | April 30, 2011 at 10:40 PM
I am from Canada and I here that we should stay out of the rain because of the Nuclear fallout covering Canada right now
Does anyone know if this is true or not?
Posted by: Richard Harrington | April 25, 2011 at 02:06 PM
This is also the normal age for a chick to fledge. At this point, the chick will be gradually re-introduced to the exhibit.
Posted by: Gaston Cantens | March 16, 2011 at 05:12 AM
Three chicks hatched altogether. Two are doing well, but one didn't make it, unfortunately.
-Monterey Bay Aquarium
Posted by: Monterey Bay Aquarium | March 09, 2011 at 12:16 PM
Weren't there two chicks hatched? What happened to the second one?
Posted by: Drae S | March 09, 2011 at 12:13 PM
Good luck with raising the little one. I too work with penguins, and caring for the chicks is a very tense and busy time period, but it is so rewarding when they reach adulthood and are thriving!
Posted by: Lori | February 03, 2011 at 08:06 AM
Fascinating to read about the baby penguin. I saw him on TV, bit I wasn't about to see him while he was on exhibit. Please consider a web-cam so we can all see him as he grows up, before he goes back on exhibit. How exciting this is!
Posted by: Liz Adams | February 02, 2011 at 05:12 PM
Interesting! I hope that everybody is having a happy Groundhog Day! I'm sorry that I didn't say anything about this yesterday, but it slipped my mind!
Posted by: Mike | February 02, 2011 at 04:24 PM
Thank you for the news and for answering my questions earlier.
I am grateful for this opportunity.
Posted by: thewarren | February 02, 2011 at 03:19 PM
We hope that there will be a camera to record the interaction between the new chick and the trainers...that would be most interesting to watch and learn about.
Posted by: Russ and Marilyn Saunders | February 02, 2011 at 11:13 AM
Thanks for keeping me inform I'm so happy to heard the baby Penguin is doing well & the parents aren't suffering from not seen their baby.
That was my main concern
Posted by: Carmen Cervantes | February 02, 2011 at 10:53 AM
Those cute babies probably have to learn not to be fazed by tapping on the glass, people waving at them, and having their picture taken.
Posted by: Ruth Paget | January 29, 2011 at 10:17 PM