First King Penguin Born in Spain

First King Penguin born in Spain
• 21 Aug 2008 •


King Penguin: Successfully bred in Spain.The first King Penguin born in Spain arived at the Selwo Marina Park in Benalmadena in June. This penguin forms part of the European Star Book programme, which includes the reproduction and maintenance of King Penguins. The newborn, an example of the total adaptation of this species, coincides with the celebration of the International Polar Year that started in March 2007 and focuses on Arctic and Antarctic scientific research.

The chick was born after a 56-day incubation period in which the father was the one in charge of looking after the egg. Once the chick is four months old, he will join the rest of the penguin groups in Selwo. Now he has to be under his parents’ protection as it is very common among this species for the chick to be kidnapped or adopted by other penguin couples. He will not be completely independent until he is 12 months old.

News courtesy of http://www.euroweeklynews.com/news/10441.html