Rare Penguin Chicks Hatch in time for International African Penguin Awareness Day!

There’s no better time to bring awareness to the Penguin species this International African Penguin Awareness Day on the 15th of this month, with the celebration of the hatching of two Endangered African Penguin chicks at Paradise Wildlife Park.

On 11 September 2022, Paradise’s bird keepers arrived to discover the two newest additions to their penguin colony snuggled under the feathers of the parents Albert and Akiki. The chicks have grown strong and healthy since hatching under the careful watchful eye of their parents and the bird-keeping team at Paradise Wildlife Park. With the first weigh-in yesterday, both twins around just over 1 kilo which is a great healthy number one month in! 

The birth of the penguin chick twins brings Paradise Wildlife Parks colony of African penguins to 19. With the parents Albert and Akiki doing exceptionally well in caring for their young, including last year's chick Marli checking in too. Paradise Wildlife Parks, African penguins are part of the European Ex-situ programme (EEP). A governing body aimed at protecting and conserving the health and genetic pools of endangered species. As currently recognised by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) African penguins are listed as Endangered due to changes in habitats and environment. This success within the breeding program is a positive moment within the zoo community and for their wild counterparts. 

Paradise Wildlife Park supports and aids the conservation of Endangered African penguins in the wild through the work of SANCCOB. The Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds; a registered non-profit organisation, whose primary objective is to reverse the decline of seabird populations through the rescue, rehabilitation and release of ill, injured, abandoned and oiled seabirds. With the hope that through their efforts and support of conservation charities penguins like many other species will be around for generations to come.