{"id":89563,"date":"2026-08-01T15:54:46","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T22:54:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/?p=89563"},"modified":"2026-08-01T15:59:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T22:59:02","slug":"for-first-time-in-8-years-baby-penguin-debuts-at-aquarium-of-the-pacific-in-long-beach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/eat-see-do-2\/see\/for-first-time-in-8-years-baby-penguin-debuts-at-aquarium-of-the-pacific-in-long-beach","title":{"rendered":"For first time in 8 years, baby penguin debuts at Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Long Beach has a fluffy new resident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ari, a Magellanic penguin chick born this spring, made a splashy debut at the Aquarium of the Pacific on Thursday. He\u2019s the first chick raised and displayed at the aquarium in eight years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The three-month-old male chick hatched on May 9, weighing about 2.5 ounces. He\u2019s the first offspring of Kate and Robbie, two Magellanic penguins rescued by the aquarium after being stranded along the coast of Brazil in 2010.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo see a chick hatch from them is very exciting, and it\u2019s a great full-circle moment for us,\u201d said Ashley Loper, an aviculturist who has closely monitored Ari\u2019s development at the aquarium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ari is the result of a cooperative breeding program<\/u><\/a> aimed at maintaining genetic diversity and health in zoos and aquariums.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Magellanic penguins are not endangered, but their numbers have decreased<\/u><\/a> significantly<\/u><\/a> in recent years due to climate change and overfishing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Ashley Loper, an aviculturist at the Aquarium of the Pacific, helped raise Ari, a Magellanic penguin chick. Here, she feeds him at the aquarium on Thursday. Sena Chang, LAist.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very important that we have this backup population in case things were to get worse out in the wild,\u201d aquarium CEO and President Jeffrey Flocken said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Magellanic penguins are medium-sized birds with distinctive black-and-white bands that wrap around their heads and chests. They\u2019re native to the arid coastlines of Argentina and Chile. Colonies usually settle around beaches to build nests for their chicks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like Magellanic penguins in the wild, Ari spent his earliest weeks under the watchful care of his parents. Once he was large enough, Ari was moved to a behind-the-scenes nursery, where aquarium staff monitored his development and introduced him to swimming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, he\u2019s out on display with fellow members of the Magellanic penguin colony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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