Two penguin chicks hatch at SB Zoo

Desi, a Humboldt penguin recently born at the Santa Barbara Zoo, looks a bit soaked after his first swim yesterday. The chick has yet to grow its waterproof feathers, but is expected to master the art of swimming and join the main penguin exhibit in the coming weeks. Photo courtesy of Santa Barbara Zoo

Two penguin chicks hatch at SB Zoo

By ERIC LINDBERG — May 8, 2010

The cuteness factor just increased twofold at the Santa Barbara Zoo with the hatching of two Humboldt penguins.

Zoo officials said the young chicks are being housed away from the main penguin exhibit for several weeks until they settle in and learn how to swim. In fact, the older of the pair, born on March 16 and named Desi, took his first dip yesterday.
“This is the age when chicks would naturally begin to gain independence in the wild,” Sheri Horiszny, the zoo’s director of animal programs, said in a news release. “We want to make sure they grow waterproof feathers and can swim well before they have access to the big pool in the exhibit.”
The younger chick, born on April 15, is still too young to swim and is being cared for by its foster parents. The breeding couple that laid both eggs also produced the zoo’s first penguin chick last summer.
Zookeepers removed the two latest eggs after they were laid and placed them with another bonded penguin pair, which began caring for each egg as if it were their own.
“This [breeding] pair has a history of challenges with chick rearing but they are valuable to the population as a whole,” Alan Varsik, the zoo’s assistant director said. “So we make sure the eggs hatch and the chicks have every opportunity for success.”
The Humboldt penguin is listed as vulnerable in their natural habitat along the Pacific coast of South America, and the zoo is participating in a breeding program managed by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
Of the 16 birds on view at the zoo’s Crawford Family Penguin House — an exhibit that features a 5,670 cubic-foot pool — only two have a recommendation to breed under the plan, in order to improve gene diversity in the overall captive population.
Several other penguins have paired off at the zoo and spend their time together, in addition to nesting. Zookeepers will occasionally provide those couples with “dummy” eggs to keep them from producing their own, and will use those pairs as foster parents.
While zoo supporters Bob and Desiree Covington have already named one of the penguin chicks, the second chick is still unnamed and zoo officials are offering naming rights to donors. More information is available by contacting Elaine Mah Best, the zoo’s development director, at 962-5339.
Zookeepers said it should only be a few weeks to a month before the chicks have fledged and return to the main exhibit.

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