Two King Penguin Chicks Hatched at Vienna Zoo Schönbrunn

For king penguins, a single egg is incubated alternately by both parents in an abdominal fold for about 50 days. Breeding success is rather rare in zoos, but it is regular in Schönbrunn, it was emphasized: "In the wild, king penguins raise at most two chicks in three years, as they depend on their parents for about a year. Here, they successfully raise offspring every year because we supplement with fish at a certain point, thus supporting the parents in the energetically demanding rearing," explained Director Stephan Hering-Hagenbeck.

On the subantarctic islands, their natural habitat, the colony breeders live with their young on flat, ice-free beaches. This gives the parents good access to the sea, where they hunt fish and squid. The offspring, like all penguins, are fed with pre-digested food.

(APA/Red.)

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