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Jurong Bird Park heralds a new king this Christmas

13 Dec 2017

SINGAPORE, 13 December 2017 – Royalty made an appearance after almost a decade, just in time for Christmas this year at Jurong Bird Park.


Two-month-old King Penguin chick Maru—which means ‘round’ in Japanese—is the first successful King Penguin hatching since 2008. Keepers retrieved the egg from penguin parents Zoro and Sora in August, and decided to incubate it under watchful eyes at the park’s Breeding and Research Centre to maximise its chances of survival.

 

Weighing just over 200g when it hatched on 10 October, Maru was fed a blended fish formula which included Vitamins B and E for the first two weeks, six times a day. Under keepers’ tender loving care, Maru has progressed onto a thrice-daily diet of herring fillets and capelin, and now weighs 6kg, which earned Maru its name. King Penguins can weigh up to 15kg, and live up to 30 years under human care.
 
King Penguin chicks are dark grey, and develop a dark brown down after a month. After around nine months, chicks will moult their brown down into their adult plumage. King Penguins are the second largest in size—after the Emperor Penguin—growing up to almost one metre in height. There are currently 17 King Penguins at Jurong Bird Park’s Penguin Coast exhibit, along with the African, Humboldt, Rockhopper and Macaroni Penguin species.

Visitors will be able to see Maru from today at the park’s indoor Penguin Coast exhibit.
Image : Maru hatched on 10 October 2017 after a two-month incubation period, to keepers’ delight, weighing just over 200g. Its gender is not known yet.
PHOTO CREDITS: WILDLIFE RESERVES SINGAPORE

Image: Maru at Day Three, in a sleepy stupor after being fed a wholesome blended fish formula which includes Vitamins B and E.


PHOTO CREDITS: WILDLIFE RESERVES SINGAPORE

Image: Maru at one month, developing a curious personality and the beginnings of a thick brown. King Penguin chicks moult this brown down after around nine months, and emerge in their adult plumage.


PHOTO CREDITS: WILDLIFE RESERVES SINGAPORE

Image: One of two-month-old Maru’s human carers, junior avian keeper Benazir Begum, looks on lovingly with a pair of adult King Penguins.


PHOTO CREDITS: WILDLIFE RESERVES SINGAPORE

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