Mumbai: 2 new additions to penguin colony bring cheer to Byculla zoo

The adult penguins in the zoo include four males and three females; Oreo was born to a pair called Donald and Daisy.

The unnamed chick was born to Flipper, the oldest female among the Humboldts, and Mr Molt, the youngest male penguin in the zoo. The parents are currently taking care of their baby through a process called ‘brooding’.

Zoo officials said the newborn is completely parent-reared. Veterinarians in the zoo, though, keep an eye on the newborn and conduct a feeding session early in the morning for necessary vitamins.

“We are yet to know the sex of Molt and Flipper’s chick as it is still in the nesting area with the parents itself. For now, we are letting the parents rear it and our team of vets is only assisting them by feeding them (parents) every 2-3 hours, to ensure that the parents are able to feed the chick well,” said Dr Sanjay Tripathi, zoo director.

Officials said that the young ones, at least up to three months of age, are highly susceptible to diseases since they have weak immunity.

“We are, therefore, cautious and are taking utmost care. The vets carry out a physical check every morning, auscultate (examine) the chick and give one (dose of) formula feeding,” said the zoo in a statement.

The penguins, based on their attributes, are all named after popular cartoon characters — Donald, Daisy, Popeye, Olive, Flipper, Bubble and Mr Molt. They were brought to the zoo in 2016 from Seoul. A penguin called Dory died a few months after coming to Mumbai due to a bacterial infection.

Humboldt penguins lay one or two eggs, which are incubated for about 40 days by both parents. Donald and Daisy laid a single egg following which Oreo was hatched in May.

Introducing the new family members of the zoo, Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar said, “Bubble, who does not have a mate after the death of Dory, is taking good care of Oreo along with its parents.” Oreo, now four months old, has mixed well with the colony, said the zoo authorities. “Nowadays, Oreo does not go into its nest and mostly hangs out with the adult female Penguin called Bubble and roams around the exhibit,” said a zoo official.

The penguins, based on their attributes, are all named after popular cartoon characters — Donald, Daisy, Popeye, Olive, Flipper, Bubble, Mr Molt and Dory.

Like an adult penguin, Oreo has switched to eating normally and doesn’t need any special diet. “He is in his juvenile coat and will undergo moulting into his adult coat at about one year. This moulting is very stressful for young penguins; hence we are taking utmost care,” said the zoo in a statement.

Tripathi said that the name of the chick was mutually decided by the veterinarians and other staffers.

Oreo was introduced into the colony by its parents who protected it when other penguins attacked it, said zoo officials. The parents also taught Oreo how to defend itself and attack others, when necessary, they added.

Humboldt penguins usually mate at the age of three-and-a-half. There are two mating seasons: March-April and October-November and penguins pair up throughout the period. After mating, a female penguin lays eggs in a month-and-a-half and parents take turns to incubate them.

Humboldt penguins, once paired, remain lifelong partners. Molt, who now is six-year-old, in 2018 had mated with Flipper, who is presently 8-year-old. However, the first penguin born in India on Independence Day of 2018 had died within a week of its birth. A post-mortem done by a team of professors from Parel’s Bombay Veterinary College had revealed “newborn anomalies like yolk sac retention and liver dysfunction” as the major cause for the chick’s death.

The BMC had recently floated tenders worth Rs 15.26 crore for the upkeep of seven penguins in the Byculla zoo. The move, however, was criticised by Opposition parties like the BJP, which had objected to the tender and alleged that the costs had been inflated.