A Humboldt penguin chick born underweight and sickly last month at the Brookfield Zoo has flourished on a weight-gain regimen of fish shakes six times a day, Brookfield Zoo officials said Wednesday.
Zookeepers decided to hand-rear the penguin because it could not make the peeping sound necessary to signal its parents when it is hungry, said Darlene Broniewicz, senior zookeeper.
They moved it from a nest near its parents to a temperature-controlled box it shares with a stuffed penguin. The chick is learning to signal its hunger to the plush penguin by peeping and touching its beak, at which point zookeepers feed it.
Video on link...
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-penguin-baby_bothfeb14,0,6576921.story
Zookeepers decided to hand-rear the penguin because it could not make the peeping sound necessary to signal its parents when it is hungry, said Darlene Broniewicz, senior zookeeper.
They moved it from a nest near its parents to a temperature-controlled box it shares with a stuffed penguin. The chick is learning to signal its hunger to the plush penguin by peeping and touching its beak, at which point zookeepers feed it.
Video on link...
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-penguin-baby_bothfeb14,0,6576921.story
