Mumbai zoo becomes home to first India-born Humboldt penguin
MUMBAI : Two years after seven Humboldt penguins from South Korea made Mumbai’s Byculla zoo home, the zoo welcomed the newest member of the species on Independence Day — the first penguin chick to be born in India.
The egg hatched at 8.02pm on Wednesday. The chick will be kept in a nesting area away from visitors for at least two months, officials at the Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan zoo said.
The zoo is yet to determine the sex of the chick and name it, but director Sanjay Tripathi confirmed it was in good health.
“It is a healthy newborn; it weighs 75 grams. It appeared to be active, and the mother, Flipper, was trying to feed it,” Tripathi said.
Officials said they had enough space to accommodate the newest penguin.for now, only its parents — Flipper and Mr Molt — will be allowed near the chick.
Doctors monitored the egg for the 40 days since Flipper laid it, on July 5, because this is the first time a penguin was being hatched in the country. They were also in touch with experts from other countries to know how the process works, Tripathi said. Officials said both Flipper and Mr Molt took turns to incubate the egg over the past month.
While Mr Molt is the youngest of the penguins, Flipper, at five years, is the oldest. Byculla Zoo has four female penguins and three male penguins, and ever since their arrival, the zoo has seen a rise in its revenue.