TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taipei Zoo welcomed six new African penguin chicks after they were hatched through artificial incubation, adding to the zoo’s ongoing efforts to conserve the species.
The chicks hatched between mid-May and late June, bringing the number of African penguins at Taipei Zoo to more than 40. Once they shed their down feathers, the young penguins will join the colony, giving visitors a chance to see them at the penguin house.
The chicks came from four pairs of parent penguins. The first to hatch is now over 1 month old and has grown noticeably larger than the others, while the youngest hatched on June 22.
Keepers have been tracking the chicks’ development, weighing them several times a day and monitoring their appearance and activity levels. Their meals are also adjusted according to growth, with keepers providing fish pieces or mashed fish based on each chick’s size and needs.
The zoo said African penguin chicks typically shed their light gray down feathers, which help keep them warm, at around 3 months old. They will then grow gray-black feathers suited for swimming, marking their transition into the juvenile stage.
Keepers will introduce the chicks to the larger penguin colony once they develop the necessary swimming skills, feeding ability, and overall health to adapt to the group.
African penguins have gone from endangered to critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List. Taipei Zoo said it has continued to improve breeding techniques, including artificial incubation and hand-rearing, to help maintain the species’ population and genetic diversity outside their natural habitat.
