S. Carolina Aquarium Celebrates ‘Baby Boom’ of Critically-Endangered Penguin Chicks

Courtnie Barnett, general manager at Ripley’s Aquarium of Myrtle Beach, said the team thought they were lucky with the first two chicks but welcoming five more made the year unforgettable. The five new arrivals hatched at the South Carolina facility and joined the pair that arrived in May. Together the seven chicks represent the strongest nesting season the aquarium has recorded for its group of African penguins. Staff described the period as a baby boom and noted the positive step for a species whose numbers have dropped steadily through the twenty-first century. The two May chicks received the names Chel and Vic while the later five remain unnamed. African penguins live only along the coasts of South Africa and Namibia and are the sole penguin species native to the Old World. Earlier forecasts had placed their extinction date before the present time yet the birds continue to survive in reduced numbers. In March 2025 a lawsuit filed by environmental groups ended with an agreement that expanded no-fishing zones around six important breeding colonies. The settlement marked the first legal action of its kind in South Africa and aimed to protect the remaining colonies. The aquarium’s animal care team supplied the daily attention that allowed the eggs to hatch and the chicks to thrive. Their work produced the seven birds now on display for visitors. The chicks continue to grow under the same care that produced the record season. The outcome shows what steady attention from keepers can achieve even for a species facing long-term pressure in the wild.