Headed to the Tennessee Aquarium soon? They have two new chicks that were born in May.
Here are some details:
Keepers will continue to monitor the progress of both chicks closely as there are still many potential pitfalls for young birds to overcome. But if they continue to progress as quickly as they’ve started, Aquarium guests might see them outside the nests in a few weeks. “We’ll begin supervised walkabouts with the other penguins when their swim feathers grow in,” said Graves. “But even then we’ll have to see how the other birds react to the newcomers.”
Gentoo penguins usually lag behind the macaronis when it comes to nest-building and breeding, but keepers are monitoring the progress of several pairs that currently have eggs. “We don’t know how many may be viable, but it’s possible that we could have an even busier summer ahead,” said Graves.
Visitors may choose to add a Backstage Pass tour to their regular Aquarium visit. http://www.tnaqua.org/PlanYourVisit/BackstagePass.aspx The afternoon backstage pass gives guests an opportunity to go above "Penguins' Rock" for the bird's eye view of the exhibit where keepers and volunteers monitor the parents and the nests below.
Get updates on the Tennessee Aquarium's penguins and other animals by joining us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/tennesseeaquarium and following the Aquarium on Twitter. http://twitter.com/#!/TNAquarium
Check out the penguin chicks: