PTI photo

MUMBAI: India’s cutest Independence Day gift this year was delivered at 8.02pm on Wednesday, when its first Humboldt penguin chick hatched at the Byculla zoo. The chick, the offspring of Flipper and Molt, weighs 75g and is healthy. Zoo authorities, who announced the birth on Thursday morning, said anything between 60 and 80g is considered good.

The suspense was on, as TOI reported in its edition on Wednesday, because the single egg laid by Flipper on July 5 completed 40 days on August 15. Humboldt penguin eggs usually hatch in 40-45 days. The zoo-keepers had kept constant watch on the nest through a CCTV and noticed the egg shell cracking around 6pm. Both parents were seen tenderly caring for the newborn, whose eyes are yet to open, and mother Flipper also began feeding it.

“The parents regurgitate digested fish and feed it to the chick. This chick’s parents have been taking their feeds regularly of fish like Bombay duck, eel and tarli,” said Dr Madhumita Kale, head veterinarian for the penguin enclosure.

The chick is yet to be named. Its sex is unknown and the zoo authorities will determine it using DNA analysis in due course. But the public will have to wait for at least two-three months for its first glimpse of the chick.

“We are following the best practices to ensure the chick grows naturally and so, for the next few months it will remain in the nesting area within the enclosure which is partly barricaded,” said Tripathi.The zoo authorities said after the egg was laid, they were fully prepared in case the parents did not incubate the egg.

