PREVIEW

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A Humboldt penguin chick that hatched at Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo Chicago on 28 May is thriving - all thanks to the care of a veteran pair of penguin foster parents and zoo staff.
In a true example of the idiom that “it takes a village” to raise a chick, Brookfield Zoo Chicago penguins, Divot and Rosie, incubated the egg and cared for the chick after it hatched.
The egg, originally laid at Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, was transferred to Brookfield Zoo Chicago in a specially designed incubator last month after the Ohio zoo’s care team removed the egg to be placed with suitable foster penguins.
The couple were chosen as they have a proven track record of raising chicks successfully, having raised their own brood in 2021 and 2022 as well as fostering another pair's chick in 2023.
“In preparation for the egg’s arrival, Divot and Rosie were offered artificial eggs to incubate, a method used to acclimate them to the task of fostering since penguins cannot distinguish between their eggs and others,” said Cody Hickman, associate director of avian conservation and care at Brookfield Zoo Chicago. “The pair seamlessly adopted the new egg upon its arrival.”
The collaboration between Brookfield Zoo Chicago and Columbus Zoo is part of the Association of Zoos Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan, which focuses on enhancing the genetic diversity and sustainability of wildlife.
“We are proud to participate in such a critical conservation effort,” Hickman said. “The successful fostering and subsequent growth of this chick underscores the importance of zoo community cooperation to maintain healthy wildlife populations.”
In addition to the chick being fostered by Divot and Rosie, two other chicks hatched at the Zoo on May 19 and February 19. The chicks’ biological parents are part of the penguin colony at Brookfield Zoo Chicago, but also needed foster parents to increase their chances of successfully hatching.
In the wild, Humboldt penguin parents typically stay and care for their chicks until the young are about 70 to 90 days old. The adults then leave the breeding ground and go off to sea, leaving their young to fend for themselves. Prior to the chick reaching that age, and to mimic the natural cycle as well as to improve the health and welfare of the birds, the animal care team at Brookfield Zoo Chicago takes over the care of the chick when it reaches a certain stage in its development. The assisted shift from parent-feeding to self-feeding makes for an easier transition on both the adults and the young bird. It also allows care staff to better monitor the chick’s food intake.
Native to the coasts of Peru and Chile, Humboldt penguins are classified as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, with factors such as climate change and natural or human-caused disasters threatening their existence.