St. Louis Zoo welcomes baby king penguin

A baby chick king penguin is bathed before for its daily weighing at the Penguin & Puffin Coast at the Saint Louis Zoo in St. Louis on January 18, 2012. The chick is being reared by its parents ÒFrancineÓ and ÒKaiju". A king penguin chick hatches after about 55 days, then its parents continue to keep it warm under their belly flap for 30-40 days until it grows too large to cover. They continue to share feeding duties for about eight months. It is not yet known if the chick is a male or female. This bird is one of the largest penguin species. As an adult, it weighs about 33 pounds, second only to the emperor penguin. UPI/Bill Grenblatt

A baby chick king penguin is prepared for its daily weighing at the Penguin & Puffin Coast at the Saint Louis Zoo in St. Louis on January 18, 2012.

A baby chick king penguin sits on a scale for its daily weighing at the Penguin & Puffin Coast at the Saint Louis Zoo in St. Louis on January 18, 2012.

ST. LOUIS, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- The St. Louis Zoo announced the birth of a 7-ounce king penguin at its Penguin & Puffin Coast exhibit.
The zoo said on its Web site the chick, born Jan. 8, is being reared by parents Francine and Kaiju at the exhibit, but the youngster may not be visible to visitors for a few weeks because king penguin chicks are kept warm under their parents' belly flaps for the first 30-40 days of their lives.
Zoo officials said they do not yet know if the chick is a male or a female.
The zoo also recently welcomed the births of 67 assassin bug babies as well as numerous stick bugs and katydids at its insect exhibit New Year's Day, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Thursday.

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