14 DAY TRIAL // Staff at the Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium in Nebraska are happy to announced that five southern rockhopped penguin chicks that hatched at this facility in last year's December are now starting to mature and turn into responsible adults.
Hopefully, it will be a while before they also have mortgages and taxes to worry about.
According to Zoo Borns, the penguin chicks hatched after an incubation period of 36 days. Since they were born until present day, they have come to weight about 5 pounds (roughly 2.3 kilograms).
Besides, they are starting to replace their baby feathers with grown-up ones, the same source details.
Apparently, these chicks are being looked after not by their parents, but by zoo employees, who feed them about five times per day.
Presently, rockhopper penguins are listed as a vulnerable species.
This is because large patches of their natural habitats in the South Atlantic, the Indian, and the Pacific Ocean have been negatively affected by the expansion of human society and pollution.