An endangered penguin chick has been born at Edinburgh Zoo.
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) celebrated the occasion by sharing a photo of the baby animal, and it has been called "so cute". The new chick is a Northern rockhopper penguin, which are unfortunately endangered as a result of climate change. The as-yet unnamed baby is the very first chick of penguin breeding season, and was born to parents Pinny and Bruce.
In 2022, the zoo welcomed two Northern rockhopper chicks, Sandy and Frankie, who "have settled into the colony well".
Senior keeper at Edinburgh Zoo Michael Livingstone commented: “Northern rockhopper penguins are endangered due to climate change, changes in marine ecosystems and overfishing, so it is really exciting to welcome a new chick.
"The first 30 days are critical for their development, so we will be keeping a close eye on the youngster at this sensitive time."
Edinburgh Zoo took to Facebook to share the news on Tuesday morning, and the post has already received dozens of likes and comments. One excited Facebook user wrote: "Baby rockhoppers! I see a trip on the cards."
"Ohh so cute," said a second, while a third echoed: "Great news".
As well as being part of the European breeding programme for Northern rockhopper penguins, RZSS has worked to help safeguard the species in the wild for many years, partnering on the species conservation action plan and carrying out genetic analysis in the zoo’s RZSS WildGenes lab to understand connectivity between the breeding populations on remote islands in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
The public can keep watch an eye on the zoo's penguins on its free live webcams.
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