The Bronx Zoo Hatches Its First Ever Fairy Penguin

For the first time in its 120-year history, the Bronx Zoo has bred a little fairy penguin. The zoo is now exhibiting the penguin chick, and has posted a video on its YouTube channel.

The chick hatched on May 10, and weighed less than an ounce when it was born. The bird is a fairy penguin, or blue penguin, and is the smallest of the 18 penguin species, according to CBS New York. The flightless birds usually grow up to be just over a foot tall, and only weigh two to three pounds.

The Wildlife Conservations Society shared a video of the fairy penguin as it was being weighed just three days after it was born. Then by the end of the video, viewers get to see how much the penguin has grown over the course of over two months as it swims around and is fed by one of the zoo attendants.

As part of a breeding program, the rest of the Bronx colony was moved from Australia to New York after being hatched at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney. After helping the Bronx Zoo hatch the others in the Bronx colony, the Wildlife Conservation Society says the Bronx Zoo will in turn support the Taronga Zoo’s little penguin conservation programs in Sydney Harbor. The zoo in Sydney produces about 15 penguins per year, but this is the first time one has been hatched in the Bronx, according to Fox News.

The WCS Newsroom tweeted photos of the newborn fairy penguin with the caption: “@theWCS @BronxZoo debuts first fairy penguin ever hatched in NYC.”

To keep up with the little fairy penguins, follow The Bronx Zoo on Twitter.