Photos: Tennessee Aquarium keepers welcome two baby penguins

Macaroni penguin chicks are healthy, vocal; gentoo chicks could hatch later this summer

By Gabrielle Chevalier

• Published Wednesday, June 20th 2012

The first baby macaroni penguin born this year, protected from the water and the curiosity of other penguins by an acrylic "playpen" in the penguin exhibit. (Photo: Staff)

Penguin keepers at the Tennessee Aquarium have their hands full with two baby macaroni penguins, each under a month old.

The keepers are not yet sure the gender of either penguin, which must be determined by a blood test, but so far, both penguin chicks are healthy and happy. Both chicks are also extremely vocal and eat frequently, senior aviculturist Amy Graves said.

“They are portly, but that's great,” Graves said. “We like to see vocal chicks that spend a good part of their day begging their parents for food.”

The first baby, which was born May 24 to parents Hercules and Shamrock, is able to remain in the room with the other penguins on display at the aquarium, separated by an acrylic “playpen” and guarded by the parents.

The second baby, which hatched June 1, is being kept in a separate room with parents Paulie and Chaos until it is ready to be introduced to the other penguins in the exhibit. Neither chick has grown its adult feathers yet, which would allow it to swim in the cold water, Graves said.

“When they first come out of the egg, they have a type of downy feather that transfers Mom's and Dad's body heat very easily because they are not yet able to regulate their own temperature,” she said. “Then, as they grow and get too big to get under Mom and Dad, they grow a different type of feather that allows them to regulate their own body temperature.”

The two chicks are the third and fourth penguin babies born at the aquarium and the first two to have hatched at the same time.

Currently, the keepers are watching five more gentoo penguin eggs to see if any are fertile. If fertile, more chicks could hatch in late July or early August.