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Ten African penguin chicks have hatched in just over a year at the San Francisco Museum of Science as scientists work to save the endangered bird.
The birds are native to the coast of South Africa and west to Namibia, a region reminiscent of the California coast and its diverse kelp forests, said California Academy of Sciences senior biologist Holly Rosenblum. Only 9,000 breeding pairs remain in the wild, down from an estimated 1 million a century ago, Rosenblum told USA TODAY.
The California Academy of Sciences, a nonprofit science museum and research institute in San Francisco, announced that before the latest baby boom began in November 2022, four years had gone by without a new chick being born. Sparks Perkins, a biologist at the academy’s Steinhardt Aquarium, said the last 10 chicks took 10 years to hatch.
The youngest chick hatched on January 12th, but the sex has not yet been determined. African penguins can live up to 27 years in the wild and even longer in captivity.
“Every chick we bring in strengthens the genetics.”
Brenda Melton, director of animal care and welfare at the museum’s Steinhardt Aquarium, said the colony of this charismatic black-and-white bird is dwindling due to threats such as overfishing, habitat degradation and oil spills. .
“Every chick we bring in strengthens the genetics and overall population of the species in our human care,” she said.
In the wild, African penguins build their nests by digging holes and lining them with leaves, branches, and stones. At California Academy, each pair of penguins is given a nest box in which they can line up nesting materials.
The academy said the chicks spend the first three weeks in the nest box with their parents, then move to a “fish school” where they learn to swim and eat fish provided by biologists. The biologists also painted pictures, provided bubbles, laser pointers and ice cream cakes to keep the baby penguins occupied.
After about three months, the penguins will be introduced to the colony, which now numbers 21 birds, where they can spend anywhere from four months to up to several years, the academy announced.
There are more than 1,300 endangered or endangered species in the United States
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, more than 44,000 species are at risk of extinction. In the United States, more than 1,300 species are listed as endangered or endangered under the Endangered Species Act, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Rosenblum warned of the ripple effects of extinction, noting that the loss of even one species could have devastating effects on the environment.
“If we mess with those nests, the whole thing can end up falling over,” she said.
Contribution: Associated Press
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