The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden has welcomed its first babies of the new year: two Little Blue Penguin hatchlings.
The first was born on Jan. 6 and the second on Jan. 7 to mom, Reuben, and dad, Chip. The babies don't have names yet, but the zoo is accepting ideas via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The penguins will be moving to a new habitat when Roo Valley opens this summer.
“It’s a good time to be a penguin at the Cincinnati Zoo,” said curator of aviculture Jennifer Gainer in a release. “The little blue penguins’ new habitat is going to be fantastic! There will be a lot of fun, enriching features that will encourage natural behaviors and allow the colony, which numbers 38 and is the largest in North America, to stay out longer in the season.”
The new penguin exhibit will feature an underwater viewing area and interactive elements (made possible by RFID technology).
“Our goal throughout the zoo, as part of our More Home to Roam capital campaign expansion, is to give animals better homes and visitors a better experience. The little blue and African penguin habitats will certainly do that,” said Cincinnati Zoo director Thane Maynard in the same release.
The penguins were ironically hatched during Penguin Days at the zoo, which offers discounted wintertime admission through March 13. The zoo is open daily.
Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, 3400 Vine St., Avondale, cincinnatizoo.org.
