(COLORADO SPRINGS) — A fluffy new baby has been welcomed to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (CMZoo) this month, marking a milestone in conservation of a critically endangered species.
The newest addition to the zoo, an African penguin chick, made its grand debut and hatched on April 8. At just 22 days old, CMZoo said the chick now weighs 983 grams – up 901 grams from its first weight of 82 grams on April 11. That’s an average of 41 grams per day.
“This little one is an important ambassador for African penguins,” CMZoo said. “In 2024, African penguins were officially uplisted to ‘critically endangered’ on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, with the number of wild breeding pairs falling below 10,000. If current trends continue, these charismatic birds could be extinct in the wild by 2035.”
CMZoo said guests can keep an eye (and ear) out for the chick in the penguin building in Water’s Edge Africa. While it’s usually snuggled in the nest, guests might see it wriggle out, or hear it peeping.
