Chicks are ‘learning how to penguin’

• Published date: 25 January 2023
• Publication title: Napier Courier, The

The newest additions to the aquarium are three recently-hatched kororā [little penguins]

They have been named Pipi, Squishy and Eric, offspring of Martin and Burny, Betty and Mo, and Captain and Flip, residents of the National Aquarium of New Zealand’s Penguin Cove.

Eric is the offspring of Martin and Burny, Pipi belongs to Betty and Mo, and Captain and Flip are parents to Squishy and his older brother Dave (born in 2016).

Rachel Haydon, general manager of the National Aquarium, said it was an achievement for kororā to breed successfully in captivity.

“Most of our kororā are rescued birds unable to survive in the wild. It is brilliant to see some of our birds become parents,” Haydon said.

Haydon said little penguin chicks mature in eight to 10 weeks, by which time their first adult feathers have grown, and they are ready to start “learning how to penguin”.

The baby kororā are already making themselves known in Penguin Cove.

Eric is showing off his swimming skills and making a stir in the pool, Squishy is a social...