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Four Penguin Chicks Hatch
at the Zoo!

Photo's
by Ted Fox
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The Rosamond Gifford Zoo is happy to announce the first hatchings
of four Humboldt penguin chicks at the zoo's new penguin Coast
Exhibit. The first chick hatched on Saturday, April 22,
weighing 94 grams. The second chick hatched on Monday, April
24, weighing 74 grams. The third chick on April 25th weighing
89 grams and the fourth followed on April 27th weighing 93 grams.
The chicks have not yet been named and the genders have not yet
been determined. Frederico and Danta, which came to Syracuse
from the Brookfield Zoo, were incubating the first two eggs.
Carmen, who came to us from San Diego Sea World and Phil who arrived
from the Philadelphia Zoo incubated the third and fourth eggs. These
penguin couples paired while at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo's new
Penguin Coast Exhibit, which opened in June 2005.
Humboldt penguin
chicks do not begin to explore their environments until around
45 days of age. The penguin chicks will remain in the nesting
box with their parents until that time. They do not acquire
all of their waterproofing plumage until approximately 90 days
of age. The zoo keepers will closely monitor the health
and progress of these newly hatched chicks.
Courtesy of Video Technologies, a
video loop of the progress and development of the chicks will
be continuously running in the zoo’s main lobby. This video
will be updated every Friday with new footage.
The zoo’s Humboldt penguin colony
is now comprised of 23 birds including 10 females, 9 males, and
the four newly hatched chicks. The penguins are viewable in both
their indoor and outdoor enclosures.
Humboldt penguins,
native to Chile and Peru, are critically endangered with only
12,000 to 30,000 found in the wild.
Hot
New Penguin Pair!!!
A hot new
penguin pair has decided to partake in a little romance at the
Rosamond Gifford Zoo!
Wylie is a male Humboldt penguin who came to Syracuse from the
Columbus Zoo. He has a red and blue band on his right flipper.
Wylie is a very mellow guy with a lot of class and table manners
that are top notch! He arrived at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo
only a few months ago and had been scoping out the ladies from
afar. However, it now seems that he has found his mate in
Mara!
They have been allopreening quite often and mating several
times a day. They have also chosen a nest box in the indoor
area of the penguin exhibit to the right of the window. Wylie
and Mara spend most of their time in the nest box, except for
when they are eating and bathing. They are adding pebbles to
their nest box and are standing guard in front of their newly
chosen home! The "In the Colony" soap opera continues......
Mara is the friendly type, except when it comes to keeper
calves. She's an ankle-biter true to heart. However,
she seems to have a soft spot for Wylie! She came to Syracuse
from Sea World San Diego and has a red and white band on
her left flipper. |
Click here
to see updated personality profiles on all of our nineteen Humboldt
penguins! You can also see how the penguin soap opera is progressing
and which penguins are now the hot couples in the colony!
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