MYSTIC, Conn. — Two recently-hatched penguin chicks have arrived at the Mystic Aquarium, the organization announced Tuesday.
According to the Mystic Aquarium, the first of the two African penguin chicks, both of which have not been named, hatched on Feb. 28, weighing 1.5 kg.
The chick is part of a fostering program that allows other penguins to raise a chick and "experience an essential part of their natural life cycle, as in the wild," said Meagan Seacor, vice president of external relations.
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The penguin's foster mother Green/Pink and father Blue/Red have taken over caring for the chick from its birth mother Purple/Red and father Black/Blue, and are providing "exceptional care," Seacor said.
The second chick was born on March 2, weighing 1.3 k.g., to the same parents as the first, and is being fostered by the penguin duo Blue/Black and Green/Red.
According to Seacor, the sex of each penguin has not been determined and will be determined in a future DNA test.
"Each chick that hatches for the Species Survival Plan is important for the future of the critically endangered African penguin. I just love how little and perfect their feet are - I just adore seeing them when they first hatch. It's a tradition of 34 years..." said Laurie Macha, senior director of marine mammals and birds.
The Species Survival Plan, which the Mystic Aquarium participates in collaboration with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, helps with "global conservation efforts" to protect the future of the African penguin species, according to Seacor.
The plan is a "cooperative breeding and management program that aims to maintain healthy, genetically diverse, and self-sustaining populations of endangered species in human care," Seacor said.
Seacor said that the African penguin species is at the "highest risk of extinction among the animals at Mystic Aquarium," and was listed as endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 2010.
The chicks are expected to join Mystic's African penguin colony in late spring. More information about the colony and the aquarium's conservation initiatives can be found on their website here.
The South African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds also works with Mystic Aquarium to help ensure the survival of African penguins, Seacor said.
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