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Two King Penguin chicks have hatched in SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium’s Penguin Playground as part of the 8th successful King Penguin breeding season.

King penguins are the second largest penguin species. The sub-Antarctic birds have the longest breeding cycle in the penguin family with the ritual of courtship, egg laying and rearing taking up to 16 months.

SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium is temporarily closed to the public during COVID-19, however, the dedicated team of aquarists and keepers are continuing to feed and care for the aquatic animals while taking precautionary social distancing and hygiene measures.

The SEA LIFE Melbourne team has named one of the recently hatched chicks ‘Sparkie’ however they are giving the public the opportunity to name the second chick by watching the live stream on the SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium’s Facebook page.

The birth of Sparkie and the currently unnamed chick brings the total number of King Penguin chicks in 2020 to four, following the arrival of Lorraine and Whopper earlier this year.

The chicks will remain close to their parents until they are around 10 months old before fledging into a waterproof layer of feathers and learning to swim.

To watch the live stream from SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium’s Penguin Playground at 10am tomorrow (Wednesday 8^th April) go to www.facebook.com/melbourneaquarium 

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