Penguin chick with Paignton Zoo Press Officer Philip Knowling
Penguin Chick with Head Keeper Lois Rowell
Living Coasts Aquarium Zookeepers Adopt Baby Penguin
By Philip Knowling
Torquay, UK - A penguin family drama unfolding at Living Coasts in Torquay proves that birds of a feather do not always flock together.
A pair of African penguins at Torquay’s coastal zoo hatched two chicks. One – probably the older – developed more quickly than the second and started to take almost all the food from the parents. Eventually, keepers had to step in to rescue the smaller chick.
Living Coasts senior head keeper Tony Durkin said: “At first they both seemed to be doing well, but then we noticed that one was growing more quickly than the other. You get size differences in the wild; it only becomes a problem if the difference gets too great.
“We prefer not to interfere, as it’s better for parent birds to rear their young naturally. But as the size difference increased, so did the problem. The smaller chick was getting some food, just not enough. When it fell in the pool we decided to give it a helping hand.”
Since then the chick has been living the highlife indoors, nestling in a cosy den made of foam matting and towels with a shelter to imitate a burrow. It has a cuddly puffin and a cuddly penguin to keep it company.
For the first two or three days the chick was fed warm, liquidized fish from a syringe. It was gradually weaned onto chunks of sprat and now takes small whole sprats. It is being fed six times a day, but doesn’t need night feeds.
The chick has five foster-mothers – keepers Lois Rowell, Amy Beckerleg, Lisa Bath, Angela Scott and Madeleine Millin, who take it in turns to do feeds.
When African penguins hatch they are about the same size as the chick of a domestic chicken. They grow quickly and at eight weeks are close to full size. Soon after they lose their downy feathers and grow their juvenile plumage, which they keep until they are about one-and-a-half years old. The sex of the penguin will be determined in due course.
Lois: “The chick is quiet but quite inquisitive, too. It enjoys a shallow warm bath and being preened by us when its feathers need a clean up.” The youngster will return to the colony when it is ready to withstand the rigors of colony life.
The message seems to be - greed is bad. Is this a story for our times?
Living Coasts is a registered charity. To adopt a penguin ring (01803) 202470 or go to www.livingcoasts.org.uk
Living Coasts is a member of the British & Irish Association of Zoos & Aquariums (BIAZA). BIAZA represents its member collections and promotes the values of good zoos and aquariums. For further information please telephone 020 7449 6351.
Story and pix courtesy of Zoo and Aquarium Visitor @
http://www.zandavisitor.com/newsarticle-584-Living_Coasts_Aquarium_Zookeepers_Adopt_Baby_Penguin
No comments:
Post a Comment