Endangered penguins hatched at the San Diego Zoo
Reporting from SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Zoo has two new arrivals: a pair of endangered African penguin chicks.
The zoo announced Wednesday that the fluffy chicks, named Doug and Barbara, hatched two months ago.
The eggs came from two breeding couples. The zoo says it’s the first time eggs laid by its adult penguins have hatched.
Staff has been working with the chicks to get them used to humans before they are introduced into the penguin colony in the next few weeks. They were named in honor of Douglas G. Myers, president and CEO of San Diego Zoo Global, and his wife, Barbara Myers.
African penguins are an endangered species. Their numbers have dropped by more than 60% in the last three decades and only 23,000 breeding pairs are known to exist.
The decline is blamed on several factors, including disease, habitat destruction and lack of food from overfishing, climate change and pollution.
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