Current:Home > Contact-usBaby boom of African penguin chicks hatch at California science museum-InfoLens
Baby boom of African penguin chicks hatch at California science museum
View Date:2024-12-23 16:43:21
Ten African penguin chicks have hatched in just over a year at a San Francisco science museum as scientists strive to save the endangered bird.
The bird is native to the South African coast and up west to Namibia, a region that Holly Rosenblum, senior biologist at the California Academy of Sciences, said was reminiscent of the California coast and its diverse kelp forests. Only 9,000 breeding pairs remain in the wild, a sharp decline from an estimated one million pairs a century ago, Rosenblum told USA TODAY.
Before the recent baby boom started in November 2022, the California Academy of Sciences, a nonprofit science museum and research institute in San Francisco, said it went four years without any new chicks. Sparks Perkins, a biologist at the academy's Steinhart Aquarium, said the last ten chicks hatched over a span of ten years.
The youngest chick hatched on Jan. 12, and its sex has not yet been determined. African penguins can live to be 27 years old in the wild, and longer in captivity.
'Every chick we welcome strengthens the genetics'
Threats such as overfishing, habitat degradation, and oil spills have reduced colonies of the charismatic black-and-white birds, said Brenda Melton, director of animal care and well-being at the museum's Steinhart Aquarium.
"Every chick we welcome strengthens the genetics and overall population of the species in human care," she said.
In the wild, African penguins make nests by burrowing and lining their nest with leaves, sticks and rocks. In the California Academy, each penguin pair is given a nest box, which they can line with nesting material.
Chicks spend the first three weeks in a nest box with their parents, then move to "fish school," where they learn to swim and eat fish provided by biologists, the academy said. Biologists also set up activities to keep the baby penguins engaged such as painting, bubbles, laser pointers and ice cakes.
After about three months, the academy said penguins are introduced to the colony, currently of 21 birds, where they can spend four months up to several years.
Over 1,300 endangered or threatened species in the U.S.
More than 44,000 species are threatened with extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. In the United States, over 1,300 species are listed as either endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Rosenblum warned of extinct species’ ripple effect, noting losing even one species can be devastating to an environment.
“When we mess with those webs, the whole thing can eventually topple,” she said.
Contributing: The Associated Press
veryGood! (91654)
Related
- 2 more escaped monkeys recaptured and enjoying peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in South Carolina
- Czech president approves plan introducing budget cuts, taxes. Labor unions call for protests
- Olympic organizers to release more than 400,000 new tickets for the Paris Games and Paralympics
- Poland’s new parliament debates reversing a ban on government funding for in vitro fertilization
- New Yorkers vent their feelings over the election and the Knicks via subway tunnel sticky notes
- Incoming Philadelphia mayor taps the city’s chief of school safety as next police commissioner
- Authorities warn that fake HIV drugs are found in Kenya despite a crackdown on counterfeits
- Florida mom, baby found stabbed to death, as firefighters rescue 2 kids from blaze
- Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas says he was detained in airport over being ‘disoriented’
- Police identify man they say injured 4 in Beavercreek, Ohio Walmart shooting
Ranking
- Whoopi Goldberg Shares Very Relatable Reason She's Remained on The View
- Bradley Cooper Reacts to Controversy Over Wearing Prosthetic Nose in Maestro
- Aaron Rodgers has 'personal guilt' about how things ended for Zach Wilson with the Jets
- A hand grenade explosion triggered by a quarrel at a market injured 9 people in southern Kosovo
- KFC sues Church's Chicken over 'original recipe' fried chicken branding
- As Thanksgiving Eve became 'Blackout Wednesday', a spike in DUI crashes followed, NHTSA says
- 'Maestro' chronicles the brilliant Bernstein — and his disorderly conduct
- Colts owner Jim Irsay needs to check his privilege and remember a name: George Floyd
Recommendation
-
PSA: Coach Outlet Has Stocking Stuffers, Gifts Under $100 & More for the Holidays RN (up to 60% Off)
-
US prints record amount of $50 bills as Americans began carrying more cash during pandemic
-
OpenAI says ousted CEO Sam Altman to return to company behind ChatGPT
-
1000-Lb. Sisters' Tammy Slaton Honors Late Husband Caleb Willingham 4 Months After His Death
-
US Election Darkens the Door of COP29 as It Opens in Azerbaijan
-
A Las Vegas high school grapples with how a feud over stolen items escalated into a fatal beating
-
Yes, France is part of the European Union’s heart and soul. Just don’t touch its Camembert cheese
-
Yes, France is part of the European Union’s heart and soul. Just don’t touch its Camembert cheese