African Penguins

Lincoln Park Zoo is thrilled to announce the arrival of some adorably feathered friends: two new African penguin chicks! The healthy young penguins hatched on June 24 and 27 and are being closely monitored by Animal Care and Veterinary staff as they grow behind the scenes.

The chicks hatched from eggs laid by first-time parents Luna and her partner Oliver, although one egg was fostered by veteran chick-rearing couple TJ and Sunny. It is common for penguin couples within the colony to raise the offspring of other parents, since penguins can only care for one egg at a time.

Both penguin chicks are reaching developmental milestones out of view at Robert and Mayari Prtizker Penguin Cove, where they are busy exploring their surroundings together before they start adventuring outside with the rest of the colony. At their recent second veterinary exam, they weighed in at 5.75 and 5.8 pounds.

The black-footed penguins have a breeding recommendation from the African Penguin Species Survival Plan®. SSPs are cooperatively managed programs within the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, ensuring animals in human care are genetically diverse and biologically sound, with sustainable populations.

African penguins are native to coastal South Africa, Namibia, and Mozambique. In fact, they are the only penguin species that breeds in Africa. These are medium-sized birds, weighing up to 10 pounds on average, and can be distinguished by the thin, black band of feathers on top of their belly—which also has a unique pattern of spots—and the black feathers around their face. A featherless pink patch of skin helps them release heat in their warmer native climate.

African penguins prefer to build nests out of accumulations of guano, but also use open scrapes in the land and have taken to artificial nesting boxes provided by humans. They generally lay one or two eggs, which both parents incubate for around 40 days. Chicks will stay in the nest for 10–12 weeks and get their juvenile plumage starting around eight weeks of age. They grow into their adult coloration after one or two years.

Lincoln Park Zoo participates in AZA’s Saving Animals From Extinction (SAFE) program, which focuses the collective expertise of AZA-accredited facilities to save species. African penguins are a priority SAFE species, as they are among the most endangered of the 18 recognized penguin species. While African penguin numbers have declined almost 65% since 1989 as a result of overfishing that has led to a scarcity of prey, the addition of these two young ones to the zoo population provides hope for the future.

The penguin chicks will be introduced to the habitat once their juvenile feathers come in and they’ve learned to swim. We’ll be sure to announce that when it happens, but in the meantime, you can meet the adult penguins during Malott Family Penguin Encounters, which are ongoing through October.