Colorado penguin parents adopt another zoo's chick

The Associated Press

Posted: 04/09/2010 11:13:53 AM MDT

DENVER—Penguin parents at a Colorado zoo have adopted a chick that first had trouble hatching and then wasn't being cared for by its biological parents at another Colorado zoo. Officials at the Denver Zoo, the chick's new home, say it's doing well.
The African penguin emerged from its shell at the Pueblo Zoo on March 20, but it was four days overdue and needed help from staffer Melanie Pococke to get out.
When the biological parents appeared unable to care for the hatchling, it was taken to Denver and placed with surrogate African penguin parents, who immediately began to feed it and keep it warm.
African penguins once came close to extinction and are listed as "vulnerable" by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.
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Information from: The Denver Post, http://www.denverpost.com