Overview

• The Brillenpinguin chick, hatched after a 38-day incubation, is the first born in Zoo Duisburg's South Africa-themed enclosure, opened in October 2024.
• The chick has grown from under 100 grams at birth to approximately 1.4 kilograms in four weeks, thriving under the care of its parents and zoo staff.
• Parents alternate incubation and feeding duties, providing a regurgitated diet of fatty fish like herring and sprats to support the chick's rapid development.
• The chick is approaching its first molt, which will replace its downy feathers with waterproof plumage, enabling it to swim for the first time.
• Zoo Duisburg's efforts complement in-situ conservation programs in South Africa, where wild Brillenpinguin populations are critically endangered due to habitat loss and overfishing.