SeaWorld San Diego witnesses 'once in a decade' hatching of emperor penguin
SeaWorld Emperor Penguin hatching
A San Diego-based aquarium and theme park has announced a 'once in a decade' event. For the first time in 13 years, SeaWorld San Diego celebrated the rare hatching of an emperor penguin chick, marking a significant event for the park.
'Exciting thing'
On Wednesday, SeaWorld announced that the emperor penguin chick came out of its eggshell with the help of the zoo staff on September 12.
In a video shared with the press, Justin Brackett, SeaWorld's birds curator, stressed the exceptional nature of this developmentand said: "This is the most exciting thing we'll do all year, potentially all decade."
Why is this so significant?
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The emperor penguin is classified as a threatened species and is native to Antarctica. At SeaWorld, 17 of these penguins are kept in a controlled habitat that is maintained at a chilly 25 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 5 degrees Celsius).
While the zoo houses around 300 penguins from various species, the successful hatching of the emperor penguin held special significance for SeaWorld's staff, said supervisor of the birds, Melissa Ramsey, who was directly involved in the hatching process.
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Unlike some other penguin species that lay multiple eggs annually, the female emperor only lays a single egg each year, clarified Ramsey during a telephone interview with Reuters.
The park disclosed that the egg was laid on July 7.
Emperor penguins
The largest among penguin species, the emperor penguin, scientifically known as Aptenodytes forsteri, can grow up to 3.7 feet (1.15 meters) in height and can weigh as much as 99 pounds (45 kilograms), according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
The species' egg-laying habits differ from other species. Emperor penguins only lay one egg at a time. In most penguin species, both male and female penguins usually take turns incubating 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.
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The artificial hatching
The recent zoo hatching was also unique due to the fact that the mother penguin did not transfer the egg to the father for incubation.
Due to this, SeaWorld's staff assumed the responsibility. They noticed signs of movement and sound from within the egg on September 7. However, after 72 hours without any significant progress, the team intervened.
You can watch a video of the hatching here:
Ramsey revealed thattheypoked a small hole in the egg to help the penguin in its hatching process over the subsequent two days. It was later identified that a beak malformation in the chick had hindered its successful hatching.
SeaWorld has extended an invitation to the public to participate in naming the newly hatched penguin. People can choose from among three names: Pearl, Pandora, and Astrid. They can put in their votes on Instagram or via email till 11:59 pm on October 31.
(With inputs from agencies)
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