There’s a new penguin at West Edmonton Mall (WEM) after an African penguin hatched five weeks ago at the Sea Life Caverns attraction.
The new addition is the fourth penguin to be hatched at the mall in four years, and the 15th since Marine Life opened in 1985.
The chick’s mother, Tweeblik, was also hatched at WEM in 1998. Her father, Pita, was hatched 15 years ago at Baltimore Zoo in 2003 and came to WEM in 2008.
The aquarium is part of the Species Survival Program for African Penguins which general curator Kim Walker describes as a dating service for penguins.
“They look at the genes of the penguins and only certain penguins breed with certain penguins, so we can have the strongest genetic diversity within the population under human care.”
Having penguins under human care is incredibly important, according to Walker, because it is expected that African penguins could be extinct by 2040. There are only 24,000 pairs left in the wild.
“That’s mainly due to human encroachment, lack of fish in the oceans for them to eat and oil spills,” she said.
The chick at WEM is spending most of her time in her parents’ territory, but the mall says she is exploring more each day.
“As of this week, she’s starting to venture out towards the water,” Walker said. “Just yesterday, she made it into her neighbour’s territory as well, so she’s slowly investigating the entire exhibit.”
Soon she will interact with the other 18 penguins that live in the marine life attraction.
By three months, the new chick will be fully grown. Walker said the chick will be ready to breed when she is between three and five years old.
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