Bugsy, the second African Penguin
hatched at Little Rock Zoo came into the world on October 24.
LITTLE ROCK, AR (News release) - The
Little Rock Zoo is proud to announce that an African Penguin
successfully hatched on October 24, 2013 and is growing strong.
The
chick, named Bugsy by Zoo staff, is the second chick hatched at the
Zoo. The first chick, Gilligan, was hatched October of last year and can
be seen at the Laura P. Nichols Penguin Pointe habitat. Like Gilligan,
Bugsy’s parents are penguins Skipper and Eze.
Both
Gilligan and Bugsy were hatched at the recommendation of the
Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan (SSP) for the
African Penguin, also called the Black-footed penguin. African penguins
are native to the country of South Africa and Namibia and are considered
an endangered species because of loss of habitat, overfishing, and oil
spills. African penguin populations have declined by 95 percent in the
past 100 years.
Bugsy and her parents are on
exhibit at Penguin Pointe but spend most of their time in their nest
box. However, Bugsy has started to explore outside of the nest box and
is occasionally visible. When she is ready, keepers will start
hand-raising Bugsy inside the Conservation Room at the exhibit to teach
her how to eat whole fish. During this process, Bugsy will be visible
to the public.
The hatching of Bugsy brings the total number of penguins at the Laura P. Nichols Penguin Pointe exhibit to 17.
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