SEATTLE—Today, April 25, is World Penguin Day and Woodland Park Zoo is sharing precious photos of its perfectly punctual Humboldt penguin chick! World Penguin Day is held annually around the world to celebrate all 18 species of penguins on the planet and the zoo’s newest penguin chick, a female, is making her debut just in time!

The chick hatched March 28 to mom Mini and dad Gomez; she represents the fourth chick between the parents. Incubation for penguins takes 39 to 41 days, with both parents sharing incubation duties in the nest and day-to-day care for their chicks. Most penguins mate for life.

The yet-to-be named chick remains in a nesting burrow where she is under the care of mom and dad. Staff routinely weigh her to ensure she’s achieving growth milestones with minimal disturbance to the parents. The chick will join the colony in the outdoor habitat in early summer.

Thanks to the expertise and dedication of the penguin care staff, Woodland Park Zoo has one of the most successful Humboldt penguin breeding programs in North America. Since the zoo’s first breeding season in 2010, a year after the new penguin habitat opened, the zoo has successfully raised 97 chicks. With the addition of the new chick, the zoo’s colony currently consists of 41 penguins.

Parents Mini and Gomez were paired under a breeding recommendation made by the Humboldt Penguin Species Survival Plan, a cooperative, breeding program across accredited zoos to help ensure a healthy, self-sustaining population of penguins. 

Not from a land of ice, but from a desert by the sea

• People do not usually think of penguins as a desert-dwelling species. However, unlike their ice and snow-dwelling Antarctic cousins, Humboldt penguins inhabit hot, dry coastlines in Peru and Chile.
• They live on rocky mainland shores, especially near cliffs, or on coastal islands.
• Humboldt penguins have a body made to swim. Using their strong wings, they “fly” underwater, usually just below the surface, at speeds of up to 20 miles per hour. They steer with their feet and tail.

Support is crucial to safeguard penguins 

• A vulnerable species, approximately 23,800 Humboldt penguins survive in their natural range.
• Woodland Park Zoo is committed to conserving Humboldt penguins by supporting the Center for Conservation of the Humboldt Penguin in Punta San Juan, Peru; breeding the birds through the Species Survival Plan; and encouraging visitors to choose sustainable seafood options as directed by Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program. Punta San Juan is home to 5,000 Humboldt penguins, the largest colony in Peru.
• Show love and support for the new penguin chick with a ZooParent adoption! The ZooParent program supports the zoo’s animal care, education, and wildlife conservation in the Pacific Northwest and around the world.