I was just going through my mail a few weeks ago and found the member magazine sent from the Denver Zoo. On this new (March/April 2009) cover were baby penguins! Back in November baby penguins were born at the Denver Zoo, right here in nearly my own backyard – and I was soooo bummed to hear I missed this monumental event!
In the magazine there is an article talking about the babies. One was born November 23rd 2009 and is being raised by it’s parents. The other baby hatched November 26, and because it was so much smaller and weaker, the zookeepers are hand-rearing it.
I was so excited I immediately made plans and headed over to the Denver Zoo this past Wednesday – only to find out the babies aren’t available for public viewing yet. Phew, lucky me (and you), we didn’t miss their grand debut! Turns it the penguins were also promoting the zoo for spring break – good for them!
We spent most of our time hanging out with the black-footed penguins aka African Penguins. Their habitat has had a little over water walkway and hideout space added to it since our last visit. It looked really great. I talked with one of the zoo volunteers for a while and learned a few new things.
Did you know… (for the Denver Zoo, anyhow)
The wing bands are colored for penguin pairs. If you look closely, you’ll find two penguins with each color – these are a couple. We were able to match up 4 pairs, although there were about 12 or so penguins waddling around.
We then headed on over to the Humboldt Penguins – all but two were hiding out. They did swim a tiny bit but our big snow was rolling in, so I think they were more interested in going inside and taking a nap.Was a great day – and I can hardly wait until the babies are ready for viewing.
Have you seen a baby penguin before?