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Racine Zoo’s staff are excited to announce that two healthy African penguin chicks hatched at the Zoo on March 6 and March 8, respectively, to parents Robin and Linus. The chicks have been growing quickly, and are already over five times the size they were when they were first hatched!

“We could not be more thrilled to welcome these new birds into the world, and to share the exciting news,” said Aszya Summers, Curator of Animal Care and Conservation Education at the Racine Zoo. “African penguins are endangered and face a variety of threats in the wild, and each penguin has an important role to play in the conservation of their species.”

Beth Heidorn, Executive Director of the Racine Zoo, said, “The African penguin chicks are doing well and their parents are doing a great job caring for them.”

The Racine Zoo is a member of the African Penguin Species Survival Program, working alongside other accredited AZA zoos and aquariums to ensure healthy African penguin populations both in zoos and in the wild. African penguins face threats from overfishing, oil spills, loss of habitat, overexploitation for food, and climate change.

“The Racine Zoo has been diligently cultivating our African penguin breeding program over the years,” Heidorn said. “With the announcement of our new African penguin chicks in 2021, we are especially proud to be making a positive long-term impact on African penguin populations, especially as wild populations decline.”

In 2015, the Racine Zoo added four new African penguins to their exhibit in hopes that a larger, more robust colony would encourage breeding. The two new chicks join older brother Kobe, born at the Racine Zoo in 2016 and older sister Harper, born in 2019, in the colony. While the chicks will be in their nests for a few more weeks as their parents work around the clock to take turns keeping them fed, you may get lucky and catch a glimpse of mom or dad coming from the nest box through the window at the African penguin exhibit at the zoo!

For a limited time, directly support the care of the penguin chicks with a purchase of a shirt, sweatshirt, or sweatpants! Youth and adult sizes available in multiple colors. We thank you for your kind contribution! Must order by Wednesday, March 31, 2021! All mailed orders will be mailed the week of 4/12. All pickup orders will be available at the Racine Zoo the week of 4/12. You will be contacted about specific pickup times.

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