PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A new fluffy bird born at the Oregon Zoo is sure to put a pen-grin on your face.
On Friday, the Oregon Zoo announced that a fuzzy grey Humboldt penguin hatched.
According to the zoo, the hatching was a three-day process that started on March 26 when the penguin began “pipping,” which means tapping her beak against the inside of her shell, and she fully emerged on March 29.
“The hatching was right on time,” said Travis Koons, who oversees the zoo’s bird population. “The chick seems to be healthy and active, and foster parents Blue and Esquela are taking great care of her. They’re our top penguin parents, and we placed the chick with them so she’d have the best chance of success.”
The hatchling’s real parents, named Mojito and Bonita, are genetically important but Koons said they aren’t as skilled at raising chicks.
When she was born, she was small enough to fit in the size of your hand, and by the summer, the zoo said she will be as big as her parents.
At around three months old, Humbolt penguins can swim right, but until that point, the hatchling will be staying inside of her nest box being fed by her parents.
Humbolt penguins are considered the most at risk of all 17 penguin species, currently labeled as vulnerable, with an estimated population of 32,000 adult birds and declining.
This new hatchling is the first since 2020, and the 192nd since the breeding program started in the 1980s.