Three Humboldt penguin chicks - classed as an endangered species - have hatched at a north Wales zoo. The Humboldt breeds in coastal Chile and Peru, but numbers have been
declining, with only 7,000-10,000 estimated to be left in the wild. New chicks Wellington, Mack and Poncho recently hatched at The Welsh
Mountain Zoo in Conwy, where keepers say they are growing fast.
Three Humboldt penguin chicks have been born at the Welsh Mountain Zoo, which has reared penguins for years. Credit: The Welsh Mountain Zoo
Luckily our breeding pairs are now very experienced and we do not
need to intervene by hand-rearing. We do not interfere. All we do is
offer food to the parent in the burrow, who is incubating the eggs three
times a day, and when the chick hatches we take a 'hatch weight' which
is around 65-80 grams.
When they are around two years old, they will go off to join a
different collection where they will hopefully find their life partner,
as Humboldt penguins are monogamous.
The Penguin Camera is located on Torgersen Island (64°46’S, 64°04’W), off the coast of Anvers Island and less than a mile from Palmer Station. Torgersen Island is home to a colony of Adélie penguins numbering approximately 2,500. This camera is seasonal and operates primarily from October to February, the Adélie breeding season. The camera is solar-powered and may sometimes experience brief outages due to inclement weather. School classrooms and other educational demonstrations will often take control of the camera, moving it to gain better views of the colony.
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