African penguin chick hatches, aquarium says. It’s a ‘huge win’ for endangered species

The recent hatching of an African penguin chick is being considered a triumph for the endangered species, an aquarium in Massachusetts said.

The chick hatched March 23 at the New England Aquarium in Boston and has been growing quickly since then, satisfying staffers, according to an April 13 statement from the aquarium.

“This is a huge win for the species,” Eric Fox, the aquarium’s assistant curator of penguins, told McClatchy News in a phone interview.

Once the bird is fully fledged — meaning its waterproof feathers have grown in — it will be examined to determine its sex and join the rest of the colony, Fox said.

The chick is the fourth generation to be born at the aquarium. Its great-grandmother, a 41-year-old, hatched there in 1981, according to the aquarium.

The chick’s hatching is part of the African Penguin Species Survival Plan, a conservation effort coordinated by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

The species, which is native to South Africa, has experienced significant population declines over the past 30 years, and only about 10,000 breeding pairs remain, according to the aquarium.

The primary factor affecting their decline is the migration and depletion of fish, Fox said.

“With climate change, ocean patterns are changing; ocean currents are changing, so fish populations are changing and moving,” Fox said. “And so the penguins are traveling further to get to the fish. And through over-fishing and unsustainable practices, the number of fish available is also declining. So they’re working harder to get less fish.”

While the species is considered endangered now, if current trends continue, it could be functionally extinct by 2035, Fox said.

“This chick is a huge ambassador for the species,” Fox said. “And we’re excited about all the attention we’re getting because a lot of people don’t know that African penguins exist let alone that they might not for much longer.”

This story was originally published April 13, 2023 at 6:56 PM with the headline "African penguin chick hatches, aquarium says. It’s a ‘huge win’ for endangered species."