Endangered penguins preparing to mate soon
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National Aviary officials are hoping a pair of African penguins will mate soon. The aviary is aiding efforts to protect the penguins, which were declared endangered species this year.
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The National Aviary is getting the birthday preparations ready for the first penguin babies in its 58-year history, although the celebration may be bittersweet.
The aviary has a pair of African penguins who have the genetic makeup to soon mate successfully, which could mean penguin eggs in two months. Although the North Side institution is a national leader in protecting the species, which have a prime home in the aviary's recently renovated building, it has never had a birth there.
The timing is critical. The species was officially declared endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Sept. 28 and by an international conservation body in June. The African penguin population has dropped from 141,000 about 50 years ago, to 50,000 in 2000 to 25,000 today, a rate that could see them erased from the wild within 10 years.
They are getting killed by commercial fishing, destruction of their habitat, oil pollution and other factors.
"Everybody loves penguins. The challenge is they're trying to survive," said Steve Sarro, the aviary's director of animal programs and the national coordinator of efforts to protect the species. But if the chicks come, he said, "We are going to celebrate. Trust me."
The African penguin lives off the southern coast of Africa, and is roughly half the size of the Emperor penguins of Antarctica. The aviary is home to 12 of the smallish birds, who behave almost like children, said Mr. Sarro, who has worked among them for 25 years. "They're like 3-year-olds. They're very challenging to work with sometimes," he said.
Mr. Sarro is the national coordinator for the Association of Zoos & Aquariums' African penguin species survival plan. It involves a scientific breeding program for the birds, which can mean matching them up with genetically attuned penguins from other institutions from around the country. The aviary cooperates with similar breeding plans for andean condors, Guam rails and other endangered birds that have hatched chicks on the North Side.
First Published December 8, 2010 12:00 am
