Mystic Aquarium Celebrates Hatching of Four African Penguin Chicks
January 29, 2025Mystic Aquarium Celebrates Hatching of Four African Penguin Chicks
Mystic Aquarium is thrilled to announce the successful hatching of four African penguin chicks in early January. The chicks, hatching on Jan. 6, 7, 9, and 10, are the offspring of two first-time penguin parent pairs, Purple/Red & Black/Blue and Black/Green & Purple/Green. This marks a significant milestone in Mystic Aquarium’s participation in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Species Survival Plan (SSP) for African penguins, a critically endangered species.
The parent pairs, Purple/Red & Black/Blue and Black/Green & Purple/Green, are adjusting well to their roles as first-time parents. Purple/Red and Black/Blue hatched two chicks last year, but they did not raise them as both chicks were fostered out. This year marks the first time they are actively raising one of their chicks themselves. To support their efforts, experienced pairs Blue/Black & Green/Red and Green/Pink & Blue/Red are fostering two of the chicks.
“The successful hatching of these four chicks underscores the importance of collaborative conservation efforts through the SSP,” said Dr. Allison Tuttle, Chief Zoological Officer at Mystic Aquarium. “These chicks represent hope for a species that is dangerously close to extinction in the wild. Seeing them thrive is incredibly rewarding.”
The chicks have already shown remarkable growth. At hatching, they weighed between 59 and 79 grams. Just three weeks later, they are more than ten times their original weights, coming in between 556 and 934 grams at their January 24 check-ups.
The parent birds, Black/Green and Black/Blue, were transferred to Mystic Aquarium from ZooTampa in May 2023 as part of the SSP Breeding and Transfer Plan. Their pairings with Purple/Green and Purple/Red have now resulted in six chicks, further demonstrating the success of these collaborative breeding efforts.
The AZA’s SSP program aims to maximize genetic diversity and ensure the long-term sustainability of species like the African penguin. As a species recently reclassified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) from “Endangered” to “Critically Endangered,” African penguins face an extremely high risk of extinction. The population has declined by 97%, with estimates suggesting the species could disappear from the wild in the next decade.
Mystic Aquarium’s expert staff not only care for and raise endangered penguin chicks here but also travel annually to South Africa to lend their expertise in raising abandoned wild African penguin chicks. These efforts directly benefit the wild population and emphasize the broader impact of zoos and aquariums in wildlife conservation.
“Helping raise abandoned chicks in South Africa is a really rewarding part of our work,” said Josh Davis, Supervisor of Penguins and who has traveled to South Africa. “It’s incredible to see how the skills we use every day to care for penguins here can make such a tangible difference for their wild counterparts.”