8,000 Miles Across the Atlantic, Chicago Aquarium Works to Save Abandoned Baby Penguins in South Africa

Nearly 500 chicks have been rescued so far this year, the aquarium said.

December 8, 2016, 1:57 PM

— -- A team from the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago has traveled more than 8,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean on a mission to help save abandoned baby penguins on South Africa's coast.

Hundreds of endangered African penguin chicks are abandoned by their parents every year in South Africa, according to a news release this week from the Shedd Aquarium.

"The strandings are due to the species’ feather-changing process known as 'moulting,'" the aquarium said. "When moulting, the adult penguins are unable to go into the cold ocean to hunt for fish, so chicks that hatch late in the year are often left behind and face the risk of starvation."

PHOTO: Throughout the months of December 2016 and January 2017, teams will be working together to admit, treat and release penguin chicks found stranded along the coast in South Africa.
Throughout the months of December 2016 and January 2017, teams from the Shedd Aquarium, the South African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds and and six other accredited zoos and aquariums will be working together to admit, treat and release penguin chicks found stranded along the coast in South Africa.

Many abandoned baby penguins have been affected by "illness, oil spills, or injuries as a result of human activity," the aquarium added.

Because the African penguin species is endangered, saving the baby penguins to help retain the species' population is "critical," the Shedd Aquarium said.

"Without organizations dedicated to assisting these animals," the aquarium added, "the population would continue to decline at a rapid and detrimental rate."

PHOTO: Throughout the months of December 2016 and January 2017, teams will be working together to admit, treat and release penguin chicks found stranded along the coast in South Africa.
Throughout the months of December 2016 and January 2017, teams from the Shedd Aquarium, the South African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds and and six other accredited zoos and aquariums will be working together to admit, treat and release penguin chicks found stranded along the coast in South Africa.

Throughout this month and January of next year, the Shedd Aquarium said it will be working with the South African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) to rescue, rehabilitate and eventually release the abandoned chicks.

PHOTO: Throughout the months of December 2016 and January 2017, teams will be working together to admit, treat and release penguin chicks found stranded along the coast in South Africa.
Throughout the months of December 2016 and January 2017, teams from the Shedd Aquarium, the South African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds and and six other accredited zoos and aquariums will be working together to admit, treat and release penguin chicks found stranded along the coast in South Africa.

So far, nearly 500 abandoned African penguin chicks have been admitted to SANCCOB this year, according to the Shedd Aquarium.

The Shedd Aquarium team in SANCCOB's facility in Cape Town, South Africa, went live on Facebook this past Monday, Dec. 5, to show how they are caring for the penguin chicks that have been rescued so far.

PHOTO: Throughout the months of December 2016 and January 2017, teams will be working together to admit, treat and release penguin chicks found stranded along the coast in South Africa.
Throughout the months of December 2016 and January 2017, teams from the Shedd Aquarium, the South African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds and and six other accredited zoos and aquariums will be working together to admit, treat and release penguin chicks found stranded along the coast in South Africa.