India's first penguin chick born in captivity dies at Mumbai Zoo

In heartbreaking news, India’s first penguin chick born in captivity died due to liver issues at Mumbai’s Byculla Zoo.

According to a statement issued by the veterinary team of Humboldt Penguin Management, the penguin chick born on the Independence Day died due to birth anomaly such as yolk sac retention and liver issues.

‘All efforts were made by the team but the chick was found dead on August 22nd during night hours,’ the statement read.

'We are hopeful of better results of breeding and chick survival of Humboldt penguins at this zoo in future,' the management said.

The penguin chick born on Aug 15 at #Mumbai zoo died due to yolk sac retention and liver issues on Aug 22 night. BMC officials state post mortem revealed that it was birth anomaly @dna pic.twitter.com/oQ142CRBn6

— Virat A Singh (@singhvirat246) August 24, 2018

Miracle of birth

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.

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.

On July 5, the nest built by penguin pair - Molt and Flipper - had an egg, indicating that the long courtship and mating had finally paid off.

Finally, on August 15, the chick was hatched at 8.02 pm. The chick was said to be in good health, according to the zoo authorities. The mother, Flipper, was also doing fine as well, they had added.  

This #penguin chick born in Mumbai’s Byculla Zoo is too cute for words https://t.co/Vd4I5e3fQY pic.twitter.com/Nx3UvONRJ2

— Virat A Singh (@singhvirat246) August 16, 2018

At that time Dr Sanjay Tripathi, Director of the zoo, had said: “Proud moment for us. The chick was born on an auspicious day as well – Independence Day. While the chick is doing well, the initial period is crucial for it. We are yet to ascertain its gender. The parents – Flipper and Molt – are taking care of it at the moment.”