Sioux Falls Zoo Introduces Adorable Baby Penguin To The Community

There has been a lot of excitement at the Great Plains Zoo & Delbridge Museum of Natural History. Not only are the zoo keepers enjoying the summertime weather with their animal friends, but also with new babies to add to the growing zoo family!

On Friday, June 16th, the Great Plains Zoo & Delbridge Museum of Natural History proudly welcomed a new Humboldt penguin chick to the colony. A penguin named Maya laid the chick's egg. In fact, she laid multiple eggs during the spring! Therefore, another penguin couple named Pippa and partner Quince took care of this chick's egg and incubated it.

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Officials at the Great Plains Zoo & Delbridge Museum of Natural History explain to our news partners at Dakota News Now, "Pippa and Quince have already raised two chicks at the Great Plains Zoo – 4-year-old Paco and two-year-old Rico – so care team members trust they’ll also take good care of this chick." This little chick is already making a huge impression on the zoo team. Animal care and veterinary teams with the Great Plains Zoo have closely monitored the chick for the last few weeks and are happy with the chick’s progress.

Humboldt penguins are considered to be a "vulnerable species.' So it's truly wonderful to have this little chick at the Great Plains Zoo!

Does this new Humboldt chick have a new yet? No....but the answer for that is coming! There will be a gender reveal party happening after the vet staff at Great Plains Zoo perform some blood tests to determine if the chick is male or female. Usually, the males are heavier and larger than the females. According to the Animal Diversity website, you can tell if the penguins are male or female by measuring the head width and bill length. 

Great Plains Zoo can expect to see the new penguin chick in a few weeks! Welcome to the Sioux Empire little one!