Oregon Zoo welcomes tiny Humboldt penguin chick, 194th to hatch
PORTLAND, Ore. (PORTLAND TRIBUNE) -- The Oregon Zoo welcomed its newest Humboldt penguin on March 4, when a tiny chick — small enough to fit in the palm of your hand — emerged from its shell.
"The little beak came out first," Marcus Jason, who oversees the zoo’s penguin habitat, said in a press release announcing the new chick. "Everything went well with the hatching, and the chick’s parents are doing a great job caring for it in their nest."
It takes chicks a few days to fully hatch. The newest chick "pipped," meaning broke through the membrane of the shell, on March 2, and fully hatched early on March 4.
After a Humboldt penguin egg is laid, the parents incubate the egg for around 40 days before its ready to hatch.
The Oregon Zoo has been breeding Humboldt penguins since the 1980s. The new chick is the 194th Humboldt to hatch at the zoo. The zoo is currently home to 20 Humboldt penguins, with two more eggs incubating.
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