First Humboldt penguin born in India dies at Byculla zoo
MUMBAI: The first India-born Humboldt penguin died in Mumbai’s Byculla zoo just a week after its birth.
Zoo officials said the chick’s parents took good care of it, but it developed anomalies like liver dysfunction and was found dead on Wednesday night. The chick was born to two of the seven Humboldt penguins that the zoo brought from South Korea in 2016. “Both parents were taking care of the chick; its development was on track,” said the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which manages the zoo said. A preliminary examination during a post mortem by the Bombay Veterinary College on Thursday, found the chick developed newborn anomalies such as yolk sac retention and liver dysfunction.
In its statement, the BMC cited a scientific paper on ‘artificial incubation and hand-rearing of Humboldt penguins’, to point out that there is a 30-35% mortality rate for chicks younger than 30 days. The first three months are crucial for the survival of a penguin chick, the statement said.
Zoo officials also said there is a 60% mortality rate for penguin eggs and chicks, owing to infertility, the position of the chick inside the egg, and the inability of parents to feed the chick.
The chick’s death could increase the flak the BMC has been getting from animal rights activists for bringing the Humboldt penguins from Seoul to India.
While the zoo had brought three males and five females, one of them died in 2016 from a bacterial infection.
“I agree there is a high mortality rate among penguin chick, but the BMC should have been more careful as India is not their natural habitat. They should not have been brought here in the first place,” said Sunish Sumbramaniam Kunju, secretary, PAWS.