A Baby Penguin Boom at the Academy of Sciences is Just as Cute as You Hoped

The California Academy of Sciences has proudly announced the birth of a “staggering” 10 African penguin chicks over the past 14 months. This follows a four-year dry spell (stressful for anyone, but especially for parents who carry the weight of an endangered population on their little wings). Before that, only 10 chicks hatched over a period of 10 years.

Alice, Fyn, Ignatz (Iggie), Nelson, Oswald Cobblepot (Ozzie for short), Pogo and a yet-to-be named fuzzball born Jan. 12, 2024 are among the aquarium’s newest residents. (Two siblings did not survive past 30 days.)

What is life like for a newly hatched African penguin at the Academy of Sciences? I’m glad you asked, because now I get to tell you about FISH SCHOOL.

New chicks spend 21 days in the nest box with their parents. For the first few months of their lives, they attend something that is exactly as adorable as it sounds: a place where they learn to swim on their own and eat fish provided by biologists. Enrichment activities at fish school include painting, bubbles, playing with a laser pointer, ice cakes and a tablet for audio and visual enrichment.

I simply cannot.

Once buoyant and waterproof, they join the aquarium’s African penguin colony, and eventually will be paired up to grow the population in human care. Four of the juveniles are already part of the museum’s exhibit and will be present for the annual Penguin Valentine’s program on Feb. 14 at 10:30 a.m.

And how does a permanently tuxedoed critter celebrate Valentine’s Day? Just like a very egalitarian elementary school class, each webbed charmer will receive a heart-shaped felt valentine to be used as nesting material.

If you have your own Valentine’s plans but still want to obsess over these little guys, you can get to know the Academy of Science’s penguin colony with this personality-filled cheat sheet or watch a live penguin webcam, streaming 24/7.