AusLeisure

Gold Coast theme park Sea World has welcomed its first ever Gentoo Penguin chick just in time for the school holidays.

Sea World Senior Penguin Keeper Katrina Krygger said that the gorgeous chick is now a week old bundle of down and is doing extremely well, stating "Mum 'Bella' and Dad 'JD' are first time parents and have chosen a nest site only centimetres away from a viewing window so visitors to Sea World can get a close encounter with the new chick.

"This is the first ever Gentoo Penguin hatched at Sea World and we are very excited to see it doing so well, and that our visitors will get to watch it grow.

"The chick has doubled its weight from 100 grams to 200 grams since hatching after a 38 day incubation period.

"The chick is fed around the clock by both Mum and Dad who regurgitate fish, rich in nutrients.

The gender of the chick will not been known for several months until DNA tests are conducted.

The Gentoo chick will grow to between five and seven kilograms and will reach maturity with-in three years.

Sea World's $12 million Penguin Encounter exhibit is a frozen world which is already home to eight of the world's second largest penguin species, the King penguin as well as sixteen Gentoo penguins.

King and Gentoo Penguins are important ambassadors for climate change and Sea World guests can learn about the effects of climate change in the Antarctic region in the Penguin Encounter educational exhibition.

20th May 2011 - SEA WORLD RECEIVES INTERNATIONAL ACCLAIM FOR PENGUIN ENCOUNTER EXHIBIT

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