LANGKAWI, Dec 18 — Underwater World Langkawi (UWL) recorded its first penguin birth this year when two African penguin chicks were hatched last Thursday.
UWL veterinary officer, Dr. Najmi Hazira Hamzah said the birth of the two aquatic birds raised the number of African penguins to 66 in the popular tourist destination.
“This year, only the two births were recorded at UWL. In total, 158 African penguins have been born at UWL since 2007.
“Both penguins will be monitored every three days for 70 days for their weight and physical condition and they would be trained to eat so that they can be independent while under the care of their parents,” she told Bernama today.
Dr. Najmi Hazira said apart from the African penguins, UWL also has 25 Rockhopper penguins.
Meanwhile, UWL senior curator, Ariati Sari Ibrahim said UWL started with 18 penguins in 2005 after receiving them from a zoo in the United States, before recording births two years later.
“African penguins live in the subtropics so they do not need ice or snow and can survive up to 27 degrees Celsius, so at UWL we set the temperature at between 18 to 22 degrees Celsius to house this species of penguins,” she said.
She added that the two caretakers are tasked with monitoring the condition of African species penguins at UWL, such as ensuring good quality of water for them.
“At UWL, we adopt the normal process of incubating the eggs by the penguins but if the handlers detect a problem they will tell the veterinarian to conduct an examination,” she said.