A pair of “veteran” penguin foster parents at Brookfield Zoo Chicago incubated an egg that hatched the zoo’s newest Humboldt penguin chick on May 28.
In what the zoo called “a true example that ‘it takes a village’” in its July 1 announcement, the two foster parents, a penguin couple named Divot and Rosie, cared for the egg and the newborn chick after it hatched. They were chosen to be the egg’s surrogate incubators due to their history of successfully incubating and raising chicks, having raised their own chicks in 2021 and 2022 and fostered another chick last year.
“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, the zoo’s associate director of avian conservation and care, in a written statement.
Two other Humboldt penguin chicks have hatched at the zoo since February. The biological parents of both chicks are part of the zoo’s Humboldt penguin colony, but like the chick who most recently hatched, they each needed foster parents to care for them as eggs to increase their odds of hatching successfully.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies Humboldt penguins as a vulnerable species, meaning they face “a high risk” of becoming extinct in the wild. Vulnerable species are, overall, considered “threatened,” but not as severely as species the IUCN classifies as endangered or critically endangered.
The chick’s egg was originally laid by its biological mother at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium before it was transferred to Brookfield Zoo Chicago in a special incubator. The collaborative effort between the zoos is part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan, which Brookfield Zoo Chicago said in its announcement “focuses on enhancing the genetic diversity and sustainability of wildlife.”
In their wild environment along the Pacific coastlines of Peru and Chile, Humboldt penguin parents usually care for their chicks for the first 70-90 days of their lives, the zoo said; after that, the adult penguins depart from their breeding ground and head to the sea, leaving the young penguins to fend for themselves.
To mimic the penguins’ natural cycle and improve their health and welfare, Brookfield Zoo Chicago said its animal care team will take over caring for the chick before it reaches 70 days old. Zoo staff assisting the chick as it transitions from being fed by its parents to feeding itself will ease the change for the chick and its foster parents alike while allowing the zoo to closely monitor the chick’s diet and food intake.
“We are proud to participate in such a critical conservation effort,” Hickman said of the zoo’s collaboration with the Columbus Zoo in the written statement. “The successful fostering and subsequent growth of this chick underscores the importance of zoo community cooperation to maintain healthy wildlife populations.”
Brookfield Zoo Chicago names Mexican wolf pup
After asking guests to give their input, Brookfield Zoo Chicago has named one of its newest Mexican wolves.
The zoo announced July 3 that more than 10,000 voters “overwhelmingly” selected the name Sierra for the wolf pup out of four options presented in a naming contest that ran from June 27 through July 2. “Sierra” is the Spanish word for “mountain range,” and the zoo said the name “pays homage to Mexican wolves’ native range near the Sierra Madre Mountains in Mexico.”
The other three options for Sierra’s name also had ties to Mexican wolves’ natural habitat and endangered status.
The name Esperanza is Spanish for “hope,” as “each new litter of pups brings hope that the species will continue to thrive,” the zoo said when it announced the naming contest. Alma is the Spanish word for “soul,” representing the “deep connection” people may have with Mexican wolves. The final option, Kelly, is the namesake of natural landmarks in the area where Mexican wolves have been reintroduced in the wild.
Seven of Sierra’s siblings were placed in wild wolf dens in New Mexico in early May to be fostered by Mexican wolf mothers raising their litters as part of the Mexican Wolf Recovery Program. Sierra and her sister, named Molly, have remained at the zoo to be raised in captivity with their parents, 5-year-old mother Vivilette and 11-year-old father Amigo.
As part of the naming contest, the zoo partnered with tourism bureau Visit Oak Park to enter participants into a raffle. The winner, who was randomly selected, received a one-night stay at the Four Points by Sheraton in Westchester and a $100 gift card to Irish Times in Brookfield, plus four tickets and a parking pass to visit the zoo.