A ‘once in a decade’ event has been announced by a San Diego-based aquarium and theme park. SeaWorld San Diego celebrated the rare hatching of an emperor penguin chick for the first time in 13 years, marking a historic event for the park.
‘It’s an exciting thing’
SeaWorld said on Wednesday that the emperor penguin baby emerged from its eggshell on September 12 with the assistance of zoo staff.
Justin Brackett, SeaWorld’s bird curator, underlined the remarkable nature of this development in a promotional video, saying, “This is the most exciting thing we’ll do all year, potentially all decade.”
What is the significance of this?
The emperor penguin is a threatened species that is native to Antarctica. 17 of these penguins are kept at SeaWorld in a temperature-controlled environment that is kept at a frigid 25 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 5 degrees Celsius).
While the zoo is home to over 300 penguins of various types, the successful hatching of the emperor penguin held special significance for SeaWorld’s personnel, according to Melissa Ramsey, supervisor of birds, who was directly involved in the hatching process.
Unlike some other penguin species, which lay many eggs each year, the female emperor only lays one egg per year, according to Ramsey during a phone interview with Reuters.
The egg was laid on July 7, according to the park.
The Emperor penguin is a threatened species
According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the emperor penguin, officially known as Aptenodytes forsteri, can grow up to 3.7 feet (1.15 meters) in height and weigh up to 99 pounds (45 kilograms).
The egg-laying habits of the species differ from those of other species. In most penguin species, male and female penguins alternate incubate the egg. However, the female emperor generally returns to the sea to feed after laying the egg, leaving the male to tend to the egg for over two months without feeding.
The process of artificial hatching
The recent zoo hatching was particularly unusual in that the egg was not transferred to the father for incubation by the mother penguin.
As a result, SeaWorld’s crew seized responsibility. On September 7, they detected movement and noises coming from within the egg. However, after 72 hours of no substantial progress, the team stepped in.
You can watch a video of the hatching here:
Ramsey said that they pierced a small hole in the egg to assist the penguin in hatching over the next two days. It was later discovered that the chick’s beak deformity had hampered its effective hatching.
The public is invited to help name the freshly hatched penguin, according to SeaWorld. People can select one of three names: Pearl, Pandora, or Astrid. They can put in their votes on Instagram or via email till 11:59 p.m. on October 31.
