An African penguin and a Demoiselle crane are the newest additions to Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo.
The gender of the chicks is unknown at this time. Until their gender can be determined, the zoo will hold off on naming them.
The newest African penguin hatched May 8. Penguins generally mate for life, and the newest chick is the third baby for parents Thumbelina and Flannigan.
Baby Flamingo Hatching at Jungle Island
This chick will be in zookeeper care until it can learn to swim and gain its independence. In a few months, it will join the colony in the zoo's exhibit.
Unlike the other penguins, when the chick goes to the exhibit it will have dark gray plumage. But that layer of feathers will be replaced by the common black and white color following its first molt or shedding, according to the zoo.
The African penguin has been considered endangered since 2010.
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Unlike the African penguin, the Demoiselle crane was adopted. Two cranes in the zoo's Sulawesi aviary didn't know what do with their first egg. So zookeepers put it under a nearby female sandhill crane. The egg hatched May 25 and is being raised by the female sandhill cranes, the zoo said.
This adoption or fostering technique is common among bird species. It is often used to build up populations or when parents don't have enough experience to raise the chick.
The wild Demoiselle crane population may be abundant, but the population is also in decline, according to the zoo.
