Taiwan Today

Two baby King Penguins, born in late November of last year, are scheduled to meet the public for the first time Feb. 23, the Taipei Zoo has announced. Before the fledglings can make their official debut, however, they will need to be given names, and the zoo is asking members of the public for suggestions until Feb. 21. The chicks can also be observed online through a live feed, the zoo said. The parents of one of the babies are “Mei Feng,” the mother, and “Mei Yong,” the father. Their egg was laid at the end of last September. After the incubation period, which both parents participated in, the baby was successfully hatched Nov. 22, when it was observed by zoo keepers to be snuggling in the arms of its father. The baby, which weighed slightly more than 200 grams at birth, is said to have a clarion voice. The other newborn is the love child of father “Mei Zhuang” and mother “Ri Mao.” It was laid at the end of September, and was hatched Nov. 24, just three days after its predecessor. Officials said that Mei Zhuang single-handedly incubated the egg for 48 days straight, in spite of the pleas of his wife to let her participate in the process. Unable to persuade her mate, Ri Mao proceeded to lay a separate egg all by herself, which she then began to incubate. But since the egg was not inseminated, officials took it away so that the mother-to-be could concentrate on the task of getting ready to raise her newborn. King Penguins are found in the Falkland Islands, the South Georgia Islands, the seas off the southern parts of South Africa and the southern regions of New Zealand, said zoo director Jason Yeh. When standing, King Penguins reach a height of 90 centimeters, making them the second largest species of penguins in the world, behind only Emperor Penguins, which stand at 120 centimeters. In comparison with the Emperor Penguin, the King Penguin’s coat is brighter in appearance, Yeh said. (HZW)