Mumbai zoo...

A team of 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 lot, 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 their revenues.

“Our cute freedom baby..” tweeted Shiv Sena youth leader Aaditya Thackeray, who was instrumental in setting up the penguin enclosure.

Meanwhile, a six-year-old animal lover from Andheri has written to the zoo, suggesting names for the penguin — ‘Ice-cube’ and ‘Vanilla’ if it is female, and ‘Apollo’ if its a male.

“There have been a few suggestions for the name of the penguin, but nothing has been decided yet,” Tripathi said. “We will decide the name of the chick once the sex is determined. It will take another 4-5 days for the DNA test.” and many people were stranded.

The northern parts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh also battled heavy showers for the second straight day.

(with agency inputs)