KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Eight fluffy macaroni penguin chicks have been born at the Kansas City Zoo.
Their eggs were flown in from SeaWorld San Diego and hatched in incubators in Kansas City, the zoo announced Tuesday. It is the first time in the zoo’s 110-year history that it has been home to this species of penguin.
Zookeepers are raising the chicks by hand, which includes giving each of them up to six feedings a day of a mixture of herring, krill and vitamins.
The food is working, as the chicks continue to gain weight, the zoo said. They averaged only 3.25 ounces at birth but are gaining 10 percent to 15 percent of their body weight every day. They’ll eventually grow to be about 10 pounds and 2 feet tall.