Aquarium of the Pacific welcomes one cute chick

Everything's Coming Up Baby Penguins - Did you see penguins Floyd and Roxy's first chick say hello?

By Alysia Gray Painter

|  Monday, Jun 23, 2014  |

Robin Riggs

A Magellanic penguin chick born to Kate and Avery made its debut earlier in June at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach.

Every day is Penguin Day in Antarctica and penguin-rich spots around the Southern Hemisphere. Truth? Fact. 

But, truly, some top-hatted, suit-wearing, certificate-waving dignitary needs to designate Long Beach as Penguin City and June as Penguin Month.

Okay, so that's probably more the perky plot of a big budget animated film, but real-life mavens of real-life Magellanic Penguins can honor the month, which has been penguin-packed one, at the Aquarium of the Pacific.

The star birds have waddled, in their inimitable way, each morning in June on the oh-so-snapshot-able Penguin Walk through the institution's Northern Pacific Gallery. That alone could rally some official to name the month Penguin Month down LBC way, we thinks.

But the penguin plot thickens or, more accurately, grows cuter: A couple of penguin pairs, duos who call the aquarium home, have welcomed chicks (or are in the process of doing so). Penguins Patsy and Noodles had a chick earlier in June, as did Kate and Avery.

All four penguins are first-time parents.

And where are the downy infants? They're in "nest burrows" inside the aquarium's June Keyes Penguin Habitat. The institutions "expects the chicks to be on public view when they leave their nests and join the other birds in the main areas of the penguin habitat later this summer."

There are still more penguin babies to come, however. One "pipped" -- that means put a hole in the egg's shell, we're sure you already know -- on June 23. It's the "first egg of the season" for Floyd and Roxy, but if you didn't see the chick put beak to shell, stayed tuned: There's another egg in the next and a webcam catching all the avian action.

Yep, June, you really are remarkably penguin-y. But we don't need a certificate or official holiday to make it Penguin Month in our heart -- we only need to watch the webcam for the next happy hatchling.

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