Rare African Penguin Chick Joins Family at NY Aquarium

A critically endangered African penguin is making his debut at the New York Aquarium, joining his parents and 35 other penguins at the Coney Island Aquarium’s Sea Cliffs habitat. 

The male chick weighed barely more than two ounces when hatched on December 4, but has since put on roughly 20 percent increases in body weight daily; today he’s up to 7.5 pounds. His soft down coat has transitioned to waterproof feathers over his first three months, and he has been developing social, swimming, and hopping behaviors to prepare for communal life. He is as yet unnamed.

The African penguin (Spheniscus demersus) is a flightless bird from the rocky coasts of South Africa and Namibia. One of the smallest penguin species – and the only Old World penguin – the animal is designated “critically endangered” by the IUCN. There are an estimated 9,900 breeding pairs remaining in the wild – 75 percent less than 20 years ago, a decline attributed to scarcity of fish, habitat loss, and assorted human disturbances.

The New York Aquarium is part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan (SSP). More than 50 AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums work together to save the African penguin from extinction and to maintain genetic diversity among penguins in captivity. 

New York Aquarium and the Wildlife Conservation Society work on conservation initiatives all over the world, but they’re also engaged in projects near and dear to Coney Island. They’re monitoring several species of sharks and great whales in New York waters using acoustic and satellite tagging, for example, and are developing long-term management plans for American eel and river herring in the restoration of the Bronx River (yes, there’s a river there, an enormous underwater canyon that stretches from the mouth of the Hudson River out over 400 miles seaward across the continental shelf. The WCS and aquarium are prodding the federal government to designate this crucial habitat as a National Marine Sanctuary, thereby protecting hundreds of oceanic species, from whales, dolphins, sharks, and sea turtles to seabirds and deep-sea corals.

Make arrangements to visit the new penguin here, where you can also donate to the New York Aquarium’s conservation programs.

Photo credit: WCS