It’s a girl! Shedd Aquarium names newest rockhopper penguin Isla

Isla, the newly named rockhopper penguin, has joined the larger penguin colony at the Shedd Aquarium. She’s the first rockhopper penguin to hatch at the Shedd in eight years. (Shedd Aquarium)

It’s a girl!

The Shedd Aquarium has officially introduced Isla, the newly named rockhopper penguin that hatched in June.

Isla was the first rockhopper penguin to hatch at the aquarium in eight years. She officially joined the colony in October and after a blood draw, the animal care team determined she’s a female.

Her name, Isla, is representative of the many islands off South America’s coast where the birds live and find their food, the aquarium said.

The Shedd Aquarium’s newest rockhopper penguin gets a checkup in July. Her parents, Edward and Annie, became famous for doing filmed “field trips” during the pandemic. (Associated Press)

Though she is still considered a juvenile, she has reached her full size and has begun to swim independently, shed her downy fluff for waterproof feathers and joined the full penguin colony, the aquarium said.

Visitors can visit Isla and her parents, Edward and Annie, in the Polar Play Zone.