A fluffy new arrival!
SEA LIFE London Aquarium welcomes first Gentoo penguin chick
2nd June 2014
The SEA LIFE London Aquarium today proudly introduced its very first Gentoo penguin chick as the team gave the tiny new arrival a routine weigh-in. The youngster, who weighed in today at 600g, was born to proud parents Arnie and Luna two weeks ago, and they've been carefully caring for it ever since, under the watchful eye of expert aquarists at the attraction.
“We were very excited to discover that Arnie and Luna had delivered an egg, and now to see them working together to bring up their tiny chick is wonderful,” said one of the aquarists who look after the penguins, Cat Dixon. "They're an established family group now, and we are very pleased at the chick's early progress. In the coming weeks we'll expect to see it put on more weight and become more independent, but the chick won't grow waterproof feathers for another two months, so until then it will be staying out of the water with its parents."
It will take a while for the team to establish the gender of their new arrival, who will need a blood test from the vet to discover is it's a boy or a girl. Since they arrived in 2011, the penguins have been extremely popular with guests who can observe them group daily in their specially themed Antarctic area.
Come visit our new baby penguin this summer and remember SEA LIFE London Aquarium is now opening late daily from 9am to 8pm during the summer holidays (26th July - 31st August 2014).
All images by Matt Haworth 2014