Birch Aquarium on Tuesday celebrated the milestone of its first Little Blue Penguin being raised and reared by its parents at the aquarium’s habitat.
“Every breeding season, our team carefully evaluates individual penguin pairs for raising their own chicks,” said Kayla Strate, Birch’s assistant curator of birds. “We weigh various factors such as past incubation history, nest location and colony behavior while also recording observations daily so we can make smart management decisions.”
This season, a new, young pair partnered up, resulting in the female laying a clutch of two eggs, said leaders from Birch, part of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.
“Since this pair showed strong promise, our team decided to have them incubate and rear one of the eggs. They ended up being very successful,” Strate said. “It’s been a delight to watch them care for and protect their chick under our team’s watchful eyes.”
According to the aquarium, the chicks learn important life skills including how to eat, socialize and swim during their first few months. Around the three-month mark, each chick joined the rest of the colony.
The aquarium’s penguin colony includes individuals from five different zoos and aquariums.
The Beyster Family Little Blue Penguins habitat brought the world’s smallest penguins to the West Coast for the first time in 2022. It was also the first seabird exhibit in the history of the aquarium.
The penguins measure under a foot tall, weigh between 2 and 3 pounds when grown and are known for their slate-blue plumage, giving them their common name.
