Photo: New England Aquarium
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — The New England Aquarium’s newest penguins are getting their first full day in the spotlight.
On Wednesday, two African penguin chicks named “FitzPatrick” and “Oyster” officially joined the Aquarium’s colony on exhibit. This comes after two other chicks named “Bunker and “Althea” joined the colony in June.
Penguin Aquarist Emily LaFontaine said it took a village to get the chicks ready to go, including some fellow penguins with some more experience.
“We actually had foster parents, Harlequin and Durban, raise FitzPatrick because Namibia and Jahleel, who are both of the chicks' parents, are brand new parents and we wanted to set them up for success,” said LaFontaine.
LaFontaine said they both have their own personality and FitzPatrick loves attention.
“He’s a little clumsy when maneuvering the islands, which makes it very endearing, but he’s getting there and he’s learning,” said LaFontaine.
FitzPatrick has a blue band on his left wing and Oyster has an orange band on her right wing, but there are other indicators to tell them apart from the rest of the penguins.
“They have a completely grey back and a kind of whiteish grey stomach. They do not have the same markings as the adult penguins,” said LaFontaine.
WBZ NewsRadio’s Kyle Bray (@KyleBrayWBZ) reports.
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