Byculla zoo reports a story of love, sex and delight as Penguin lays egg

While the first egg laid by Flipper, the four-and-a-half-year-old Humboldt penguin at the Byculla Zoo, has the entire Mumbai cheering, officials are keeping their fingers crossed as if all goes well, the Veermata Jijabai Bhosale (VJB) zoo will be the first in India to have a new-born penguin chick.

Caretakers at the zoo realised on early morning on July 5 that the nest built by the penguin pair - Molt and Flipper - had an egg, indicating that the long courtship and mating had finally paid off.

Experts claimed that the Humboldt penguins are known to lay two equally sized eggs within two to four days interval and zoo officials have not ruled out the possibility of a second egg.

“Both Flipper and Molt are taking turns and sitting on the eggs to incubate it, which is a good sign. Both of them are first time parents so we are keeping a close watch on their behaviour. The egg normally hatches in 40 days and we all are eager and prepared to host a chick,” said Dr Madhumita Kale, Head Veterinarian and incharge of the penguin enclosure.

She added that with the pair laying eggs within two years of being brought to Mumbai, it is obvious that the penguins were not only healthy but have adapted themselves to the new atmosphere.

Zoo officials said that while the nest is in the enclosure itself, it is located away from the viewing area. “The enclosure is sound proof so there is no question of the penguins getting disturbed,” a zoo official said.

Meanwhile, experts claim that merely laying of eggs doesn’t ensure that there will be a chick. “There are several factors as at times there are chances that the eggs can be infertile too, or something could go wrong if both parents don’t incubate the egg or abandon it and hence round the clock monitoring is required and in several zoos abroad the eggs are artificially incubated too,” an expert veterinarian said.

The penguin enclosure at the zoo is home to seven penguins who have also formed pairs. While Molt and Flipper were the first to pair up, other pairs are Donald and Daisy, Popeye and Olive, leaving female Bubble alone.

A total of eight Humboldt penguins - three males and five females - were brought from Seoul to the Byculla zoo on July 26 2016. However one of them - Dory - died on October 23, 2016 due to bacterial infection.