Overview
- Zookeepers adopted a fruits-and-vegetables naming theme, announcing the first two chicks as Kiwi and Cayenne with more names to follow.
- The Maryland Zoo maintains North America’s largest African penguin colony and has hatched more than 1,000 chicks over 50 years, sending birds to facilities in 35 states and Canada.
- Breeding at the zoo runs from mid-September through February to mirror the species’ native timing in South Africa and Namibia.
- The effort follows the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ African Penguin Species Survival Plan, including genetic transfers such as the arrival of a female named Gerry from Monterey Bay to pair with a matched male.
- The IUCN now lists African penguins as critically endangered with a potential wild extinction within about a decade, and officials say any future reintroduction would require addressing overfishing and habitat loss.