There are offspring again in Vienna’s Schönbrunn Zoo: A king penguin chick has hatched. That happened at the end of July, but up to now the cub has cleverly hidden itself between its parents. It is now showing up in public and visitors can see it well in the Polarium, according to a broadcast on Tuesday.
“However, the penguin chick cannot swim yet. King penguins don’t get water-repellent plumage until they are about ten months old. Until then, they wear a warm, brown downy coat. The gender of the chick will only be determined at a later point in time by genetic testing of feather samples determined,” said animal keeper Bettina Schragner.
King penguins are the second largest penguin species after the emperor penguins with about 95 centimeters. King penguin parents do not build nests. The females only lay one egg, which the parents alternately carry on their feet and incubate while standing in a special abdominal fold. In the wild, king penguins live in dense colonies and like to stay in close quarters.
“The breeding of king penguins in human care is still difficult and rare. We are therefore very pleased that this special animal species has been successfully bred again at Schönbrunn Zoo,” emphasized zoo director Stephan Hering-Hagenbeck.
Source: Nachrichten
