Easter surprise: second Humboldt penguin chick hatches at Woodland Park Zoo
Pastel-dyed chicken eggs and even chocolate ones couldn't compare with the Easter egg that delighted Woodland Park Zoo and its fans this year. On Easter Sunday, a second Humboldt penguin hatched in the zoo's penguin exhibit.
It's a sibling to the chick that hatched four days earlier on Thursday, April 1. Both chicks, as yet unsexed, are the first offspring of their three-year-old parents, Dora and PJ.
The chicks are regularly weighed to make sure they are gaining weight, a sign that they are feeding well. The older chick has doubled its weight in just six days and now tips the scale at approximately 5 ounces. Thus far, the two aren't fighting with each other. Such sibling rivalry is typical in the wild when food is limited.
Zoo staff also check to make sure the chicks are sufficiently hydrated (using a skin-pinch test just as one would use in checking a kitten or puppy's hydration) and listen to their peeps to make sure their lungs are functioning well.
Though zoo staff keep tabs on the chicks, the parent birds are caring for and feeding them.
Meanwhile, two other penguin pairs continue to incubate their eggs in other burrows in the exhibit.
The penguin chicks will not be ready to toddle out of their nesting burrows until early summer, but you can periodically sneak a peek at them online by visiting the Woodland Park Zoo blog and the zoo's YouTube video channel.
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