- Photo by Kelli O'Brien
Unknown? Yep.
That's
because the best way to determine the sex of some birds, including
penguins, is to look at the animals' DNA, and we like to wait until the
birds are older to take a feather sample. So the gender of some of our
younger chicks remains a mystery, for now.
Since 1999,
the Zoo has had 93 successful hatchlings. Some of these have been sent
to 25 accredited zoos and aquariums across North America, including The
Toledo Zoo, the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut, the Minnesota Zoo,
Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo, Denver Zoo and Georgia Aquarium, in order to
save and sustain the species. Imported from South Africa in 1996, the
founding penguins of the Zoo's flock created a strong genetic line that
has shaped the wider population in conservation care.
- Photo by Kelli O'Brien
The
rest make up the 43 penguins in the Zoo's flock. The most recent
addition came when 6 baby chicks--Gizmo, Blue, Obi, Sky, Marvel and
Swoop--hatched in January. Every year for the last 16 years, the Zoo has
had more successful hilariously-named hatchlings, starting with Little
Ricky in 1999. Here's a breakdown:
- 2014 (3): Doni, Cricket, Roman
- 2013 (11): Bub, Blitzwing, Chuck, Charlie, Avery, Darcy, Pippin, Elrond, Gimli, Smeagol, Jerry
- 2012 (5): Bamm-Bamm, Shadow, Pebbles, Jazz, Beazle
- 2011 (6): Mackenzie, Ty, Alex, Sam, Huey, Thumper
- 2010 (7): Parker, Sparky, Sparkles, Haley, Wesley, Pip, Unknown name
- 2009 (5): Phoenix, Dassen, Jackie, Robben, Georgia
- 2008 (7): Geyser, Butters, Lionel, Tazmania, Tweak, Cricket, Sweet Pea
- 2007 (6): Boulder, Pomona, Sinclair, Wedge, Chicken Hawk, Seneca
- 2006 (5): Twiggy, Wash, Zoey, Awesomo, Plum Pudding
- 2005 (9): Tyson, Pickle, Triangle, Ren, Stimpy, Jonny B, Fire Fly, Piccolo, Forest
- 2004 (9): Terri, Arthur, Wilson, Guiness, Regan, Kyle, Tiny Tim, Goliath, Pearl
- 2003 (1): Ash
- 2002 (6): Poopy, Roxy, Teapot, Gia, Eze, PP
- 2001 (3): Pedro, Pete, Calista
- 2000 (3): Tonic, Vincent, Little Jim
- 1999 (1): Little Ricky
African
penguins are found in coastal areas and seas off the southern tip of
Africa. Once abundant in their natural range, there has been a 60%
decline in population in the last 30 years. Numbers have dwindled so
quickly that in 2010, African penguins were listed as endangered by the
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
Knowledge
gained from the success of breeding programs in zoos is being used to
help assist breeding programs in situ, where population decline is due
in large part to breeding failure. The South African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds
(SANCCOB), a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of
sea birds, has, for example, established The Chick Bolstering Project.
The initiative is a collaborative effort to introduce hand-reared chicks
back into their natural range to combat population decline.
Seneca Park Zoo supports organizations such as SANCCOB as they work tirelessly to save this magnificent bird in its natural range
No comments:
Post a Comment