Two Humboldt penguins of the same sex have become the adoptive parents of a chick, according to the authorities of the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, a city located in New York.
This is the first time that it is documented in this zoo that two male penguins take care of an egg and then adopt the newborn, although this behavior had previously been successfully recorded in penguins from other places.
Those responsible for the zoo explained that Elmer and Lima, as these parents are called, took care of an egg that came from a couple of penguins that had a history of constantly breaking their own eggs. They both took turns incubating the egg and the chick hatched on New Year’s Day.
The pair of penguins was put to the test
Zoo experts had put the penguin duo to the test by initially placing a dummy egg in a nest the pair jointly built last fall, during the current breeding season.
Zoo director Ted Fox said not all penguin duos are good at hatching eggs, but noted that “Elmer and Lima were exemplary in all aspects of the game. care of the eggs”.
After the couple passed the test, officials they removed the dummy egg and replaced it with a real one. In this way, the duo exchanged roles to incubate the egg until the chick hatched, explained Fox.
“Elmer and Lima continue to raise and care for the chick, and they are doing a great job. And once they have experience doing this and continue to do well, they will be considered for raising future eggs.”
The penguins Humboldt’s are native to the ocean current that bears the same name, off the coast of Chile and Peru in South America. They are listed as a vulnerable species, as the wild population is declining due to habitat loss and climate change.
With information from DW.
Also read:
· They denounce the killing of 550 penguins in Punta Tombo , Argentina
· Alert study of high mercury concentration in Antarctic penguins
· They find a dead penguin after ingesting a mask N95 in Brazil