Overview

• Three Humboldt penguin chicks hatched at Byculla Zoo in March were named Noddy, Tom and Pingu, continuing an English naming tradition since the first arrivals in 2016.
• BJP assembly member Nitin Bankar led a protest on June 1 and has repeatedly written to zoo officials demanding Marathi names to reflect the chicks’ birth on Maharashtra soil.
• The BJP has proposed the Marathi names Adu, Sanju and Teju for the current chicks.
• Zoo officials told reporters the three names are already registered with the Central Zoo Authority and cannot be altered but pledged to assign Marathi names to future hatchlings.
• Bankar has warned he may seek to shut down the zoo if the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation does not provide a written response by the June 10 deadline.