Welcome, little one! An endangered African Penguin hatched on September 28, 2022, at the National Aviary.
During a routine neonatal health exam when he was just a few days old, Pierogi’s (affectionately named by staff!) care team discovered he had a developmental eye condition. They brought in a human eye specialist who treats patients with special visual needs. This specialist, alongside our veterinary team, performed a full eye exam, modifying the techniques and tools used on humans for the unique features of a penguin patient. With this testing, our veterinary team saw his right eye and eyelid were not fully formed. Pierogi’s care team then developed ways to help him acclimate to visual changes, such as hand-feeding him on the left side so he could easily see fish.
Pierogi is a very smart penguin and has fully adjusted. He navigates Penguin Point like the other penguins, and receives regular health checkups, including monitoring his eye condition.
For African Penguins, whose populations in the wild are declining, every hatching is a symbol of hope for the future of the species. Pierogi is the biological offspring of first-time parents Patrick and her mate, Owen. Because of the critical importance of each and every hatching for this endangered species, the chick is being raised by Patrick and Owen’s colony mates, Sidney and Bette. Sidney and Bette have fledged 10 chicks at the National Aviary and readily stepped in as “adoptive” parents. They did a fantastic job feeding, brooding, and caring for Pierogi, and Patrick and Owen continue to thrive in Penguin Point.
According to National Aviary Senior Aviculturist Chris Gaus, “Each hatching is unique and we are always working to ensure chicks and parents are set up to thrive. This is particularly important in the very early days of chickhood, when chicks are fragile and require a high level of care.” Sidney and Bette have so much experience raising chicks at the National Aviary and are well-suited to caring for this little one.
Donate now!Pierogi’s hatching is an important boost for African Penguins which are endangered in the wild. Donate today to help support the National Aviary’s leadership role in their conservation efforts.
He was raised in a specially designed artificial nest burrow in Penguin Point by Sidney and Bette. The habitat has naturalistic elements of the South African coast—like heated rocky beaches, warm pools for diving and swimming, and cozy nest burrows—that encourage the natural behaviors of these social, curious birds. This hatching marks a hopeful moment for a species that is experiencing continuing population declines in the wild.
Nest burrows like those used by Sidney and Bette in Penguin Point have been deployed in South Africa and Namibia, where human disturbance at nesting sites has greatly affected penguins’ breeding success. Human-caused pressures including the overharvesting of fish and disasters like oil spills have caused rapid declines, and today just over 1% of the wild African Penguin population remains, which numbered in the millions a century ago. The National Aviary is the leader of the AZA: Saving Animals From Extinction (SAFE) program for African Penguins. The program is coordinated by National Aviary Senior Conservation Scientist Dr. Patty McGill, who works with colleagues at the Aviary and around the world to identify and address the short-term and long-term challenges plaguing the species.
Donate now!Other ways to support Pierogi:
Symbolically adopt an African Penguin chick.
Book a Penguin Encounter and meet an African Penguin up close and get the opportunity to feel their soft feathers.
Visit the colony at Penguin Point for free for a year with a Traditional Membership.