Chicks hatched at Tulsa Zoo mark step forward for critically endangered African penguins

The Tulsa Zoo welcomed two new African penguin chicks to its colony earlier this year.

The zoo partners with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) to create a species survival plan and ensure the continued existence of threatened species.

Breeding Season

Penguins Ireland and Dassen and Prince and Sphen were chosen to breed, and the Tulsa Zoo staff introduced each pairing. The animal care team monitors everything from breeding to nesting to lead to a successful hatching.

The first chick hatched at the Tulsa Zoo on Jan. 4 to parents Ireland and Dassen, marking the zoo's 30th chick to hatch since the exhibit opened in 2002.

The chick is a sibling to penguins River and Mickey, who both hatched at the Tulsa Zoo in 2022.

The next chick to hatch came on January 29 to mom Prince and dad Sphen. Prince joined the Tulsa Zoo penguin colony last September and quickly formed a close bond with Sphen. Once it hatched the zoo introduced a foster pair with previous chick-rearing experience to care for the chick.

Conservation Efforts

The success of the Tulsa Zoo's penguin breeding season is a major step forward for the species. In 2024, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) moved the African penguin from an endangered species to critically endangered. They are the first of 18 penguin species globally to meet the criteria for this classification.

African penguins have lost 97% of their population and, at the current rate of decline, will be extinct in the wild by 2035.

The Tulsa Zoo said every successful hatching is a testament to its conservation efforts.