Columbus Zoo welcomes three fuzzy penguin chicks!

Three Humboldt penguin chicks hatched at the Columbus Zoo in late March, and according to a press release sent out today, all the chicks and the parents are doing well.

“We are thrilled to welcome these little ones into the Zoo family,” said zoo President/CEO Tom Stalf in the press release. “Native Humboldt penguin populations are declining and they need our help.”

Though one of the chicks experienced complications after hatching, Columbus Zoo staff was able to intervene and quickly return the chick to its nest in good health.

You wouldn’t know it from looking at these fuzzy, derpy little birds, but they’re eating machines.

Humboldt penguin chicks typically double their weight within the first five days of hatching, and they can swallow fish whole from their parents!

The Columbus Zoo is one of the few zoos that breeds these endangered animals. Currently, between 3,000 and 12,000 exist in the wild.

Photos by Graham S. Jones.

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