Endangered penguin chick hatches at Edinburgh Zoo

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) has announced the arrival of a tiny endangered Northern rockhopper penguin chick at Edinburgh Zoo. Keepers at the wildlife conservation charity are delighted to welcome the very first chick of penguin breeding season, born to parents Pinny and Bruce.

Michael Livingstone, senior keeper at Edinburgh Zoo, said, “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.

Last year we welcomed two Northern rockhopper chicks, Sandy and Frankie, who have settled into the colony well.

Every visit to Edinburgh Zoo helps care for all our amazing animals, like our penguins, and helps protect threatened species at home in Scotland and around the world.”

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.