African Penguin Chick Born at Lincoln Park Zoo Is Sign of Hope for a Critically Endangered Species

Patty Wetli | November 7, 2025, 12:08 pm

Lincoln Park Zoo's African penguin chick is hitting all of its key milestones after hatching October 1. (Courtesy Lincoln Park Zoo)

Lincoln Park Zoo is celebrating the birth of an African penguin chick, a critically endangered species that’s facing a host of challenges in the wild.

“Each new African penguin chick represents an immense amount of hope for the species’ future,” Nicole Finch-Mason, curator of birds, said in a statement.

The chick hatched Oct. 1 and is hitting important milestones, but still needs to fledge and learn to swim before joining the rest of the African penguin colony, zoo officials said.

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The newcomer’s biological parents, Rosie and Cecil, haven’t had success rearing chicks in the past, so staff brought in a more experienced, naturally nurturing penguin pair to help take care of the little one.

“It’s been great to see Liam and Maria rise to the occasion as fosters, giving them a chance to experience parenthood regardless of their genetics,” Finch-Mason said.

The zoo is soliciting potential names for the chick, whose sex is still TBD, via its social media channels and will release the finalists next week as part of a naming contest.

The adult African penguins display a few of the species' unusual physical traits, including the unique flecks on their chest and exposed pink skin near their eyes. (Kofimage / iStock)

Lincoln Park Zoo is a participant in the global Saving Animals From Extinction program, which has listed the African penguin as a “priority species.” The bird’s numbers have decreased from 140,000 breeding pairs in 1956 to fewer than 20,000 today in its native habitat along the rocky southwestern coast of Africa, stretching from Namibia to the tip of South Africa.

Colonies have declined largely due to food shortages caused by overfishing. Other factors include climate-related shifts in prey availability, oil pollution and predation.

Expect Chicago’s new chick to begin displaying penguins’ tuxedo-like adult plumage when it reaches one to years of age. It will also eventually sport a smattering of dark flecks on its otherwise white chest — these dots are unique to each penguin, like a fingerprint.

Other quirks of African penguins: They have a patch of exposed pink skin near their eyes. This is where heat escapes to help the penguins cool down under all that plumage.

And then there’s the sound they make, best described as donkey-like. This explains one of the bird’s nicknames: jackass penguin.