Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institute of Oceanography at UC San Diego welcomed the West Coast’s first-ever Little Blue penguin chick on New Year’s Day 2024. Then, around 20 days later, they welcomed two more Little Blue Penguin Chicks. Little Blue Penguins are known to be one of the smallest breeds of penguins, and true to their name, they are tinted blue. Birch Aquarium has around 10 of them in the habitat that opened in 2022, part of their initiative with the Cincinnati Zoo to try to increase the penguin population in the United States. The babies receive around-the-clock care by the aquarium’s trained penguin care team. Unfortunately, as of now, they are not in the exhibit, as they still have to grow and get used to other penguins and, of course, humans. However, they are growing fast and will soon be part of the larger colony on exhibit.

The hatching of these chicks is a huge step in the conservation efforts of Birch Aquarium. As climate change’s effects are impacting penguins worldwide, it is more important than ever for aquariums and zoos to increase population and continue protecting these species. Birch Aquarium and its new chicks are just a small part of that. Jenn Nero Moffatt, the Senior Director of Animal Care, Science, and Conservation, said in an interview with NBC7, “It is critical that we not only protect wild populations but continue to maintain a healthy and genetically diverse population of Little Blue Penguins in human care.” Kinsley Stephens, a junior, remembers seeing the penguins in the enclosure the last time she was at Birch Aquarium. She says they were “so cute” and says, “I think it’s a positive thing that they are the first in the west coast to be hatched…it can’t be negative at least, for their species.” It seems as if the hatching of three Little Blue Penguin chicks is a massive step in conservation and an exciting event for aquarium visitors.