AKRON, Ohio — The Akron Zoo recently welcomed two Humboldt penguin chicks that hatched at the zoo and took to Facebook Live on Saturday to announce the name of one of them.
After a blood test to determine the gender of the chicks, one of the results came back and the Akron Zoo announced the chick's gender and name on Facebook Live.
The first chick is a boy and the zoo named him Ernesto, as seen in the Facebook video.
On March 12, Ernesto hatched while the second chick hatched on April 5. As each chick continues to grow, they'll be weaned from their parents and before being able to enter the penguin habit for their public debut later this summer, they'll each need to learn to eat on their own and pass a swim test, the zoo said.
While Ernesto now has a name, the zoo is waiting to receive the blood test from the younger chick to determine its sex and will then give the little one a name. There will be another Facebook Live to announce the second chick's name, which is expected in the next few weeks.
The Akron Zoo is currently home to 18 Humboldt penguins including Ernesto and the unnamed chick. The two new chicks mark the 18th and 19th chicks to be born at the zoo since the Penguin Point exhibit opened in 2003.
Humboldt penguins are native to the coasts of Peru and Chile and are currently vulnerable to extinction due in part to the harvesting of guano for use in agricultural fertilizer, the zoo said.
