The Real Chicks of Central Park

Central Park Zoo

Chick Pic

When We Were Young

by Pink Dot

Heat lamps helped us stay warm during our earliest days. Being penguins, we soon abandoned these for refrigerated digs that helped us stay cool.
This is when we were <em>really</em> young. I definitely don't remember this stage.
You guessed it—that's me, Pink Dot. The dot is just a faded memory now!
That tiny white spot at end of our beaks is called the egg tooth. It help chicks peck out of their eggs during hatching. We lose them gradually, like baby teeth.
That's White Stripe, as she was once known, for obvious reasons. When her adult feathers grew in, the stripe disappeared!
When we were small, we lived in groups organized by age, like this gentoo-chinstrap pair. I know what you're thinking, but cuddling is mostly for warmth.
My, what big feet she has! The better to waddle with, my dear.
We grow up—and fill out—fast. This is what happens when you eat five times a day.

I'll be the first to admit it: We were adorable. In addition to my three other chinstrap siblings, there were the four gentoo chicks, including that funny-looking one with the stripe of white hair down his black back. We've all grown up and matured by now...but who can resist a baby album?

 
Pink Dot
Raising Chicks

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Raising Chicks

Life in the Nursery

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Life in the Nursery