The arrival of the first Gentoo penguin chicks of the season was announced by Edinburgh Zoo. They were born this week in the morning hours, the first on Monday, and the second Wednesday. Many more chicks are anticipated to hatch in the next few weeks. The nest marked C7 in the Zoo penguin map shows both chicks hatching from the same nest. The penguin cam can be used to find the nest. Officials at the Zoo say that another egg is already cracking and will soon hatch. Over the coming weeks, the rest of the eggs will begin to hatch. This is one of the Gentoo penguin chicks who hatched last week. The breeding season began at Penguins Rock, March. This was followed by the usual flipper slaps. According to the Zoo, eggs were laid just in time for Easter at the start of April. The birds have already laid 40 eggs so far. They are now hatching about one month after they laid their 40 eggs. Dawn Nicoll (Senior Penguin Keeper, *RZSS Edinburgh Zoo) said that “We are very happy that the first gentoo penguin eggs hatched.” The penguin breeding season is an extremely busy time. From the moment the nesting rings are placed in the enclosure to hatching to rearing the chicks, and finally the fledging, it is very rewarding. Because the chicks will not be laying at the exact same time, the majority will hatch within the next 2 to 3 weeks. We are hopeful that we’ll have a lot of chicks this season. *RZSS is the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland. Scientists from Australia and Britain have found that Gentoo penguins breed in large numbers and then drop huge amounts of poo. The snow becomes darker and absorbs more light, so it melts faster. Video – Gentoo penguin eggs hatch
