Adventure Aquarium Welcomes Three Little Blue Penguin Chicks

Egg laid to first-time parents fostered by experienced breeding pair

Aquarium to launch chick naming contest next week 

Get your tickets to see the chicks in person at AdventureAquarium.com

CAMDEN, N.J. (February 27, 2024) – BABY BOOM ALERT! Adventure Aquarium is excited to welcome THREE healthy new hatchlings into their little blue penguin colony! These chicks are a welcome addition to the Aquarium family and are important ambassadors to their species. Little blue penguins, which hail from the coasts of Australia and New Zealand, get their name from their plumage of slate-blue feathers and stature as the smallest penguin species.

“We are so excited to have another successful breeding season among our little blue penguin colony. Welcoming any number of new chicks is always exciting. We have been fortunate to welcome eight chicks over the past three seasons,” said Nikki Grandinetti, general curator of Adventure Aquarium.

The first bundle of feathers, a healthy baby girl named Bananas Foster, was hatched on January 26 to parents Chip (#21) and Truffle (#20). As first-time parents, Chip and Truffle didn’t fully understand the duties of parenthood, neglecting to sit on and incubate their egg – a necessary step to keeping a baby chick alive until it hatches. Aquarium staff were able to step in and place the egg in an incubator, where it remained until a week before its estimated hatch window.  At that point, the egg was placed with tenured parents Kororaa (#10) and Phillip (#5) so they could continue incubating the egg until its hatch date and serve as foster parents to the newborn chick. The pair readily cared for and fed Bananas until she grew large enough to eat whole fish. She has since been brought into biologist care to learn how to take fish and other necessary skills to be a penguin at the Aquarium.

The second chick of the season, another female named Kiwi, hatched on February 6 to parents Sheila (#8) and Spud (#3). Kiwi joins the colony alongside brother Tater Tot (#24) and half-sisters Adelaide (#19), Elanora (#9), Aroha (#13), and Phoenix (#17) – all brooded by Sheila.

The last chick, whose sex and name have not been determined yet, hatched on February 12 to parents Maremma (#11) and Bloke (#4). The pair have been back and forth on what to name their chick and are turning to the public for help. The Aquarium will launch a naming contest next week to pick an official moniker for the baby bird – stay tuned in to the Aquarium’s social media to cast your vote.

BABY PENGUIN GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT

On average, a little blue penguin chick gains around 10% of their body weight daily during the first week after hatching and reaches adult size in just two months! Around this time, the chicks are considered juvenile and will have all their waterproof plumage, which helps the birds stay dry while swimming and maintain an ideal body temperature.

HOW TO SEE THE BABY PENGUINS

The penguin chicks will remain behind the scenes until they are about two months old. Once old enough, the chicks will start making day trips to a “howdy pen” on Little Blue Beach. This time helps the chicks adjust to their new environment before fully acclimating into the colony.

As the oldest of the clutch, Bananas should be on exhibit to the public around mid-March, with the other chicks joining in as they reach the milestones mentioned above.

To learn more or purchase daily tickets, visit AdventureAquarium.com.