The Chicks Behind the Chicks
While raising the penguin chicks, Nora Beirne could tell you stories about every one of them, from who gets along best to how much Pink Dot had eaten last night. A one-year veteran of the Central Park Zoo keeper staff, this was her first time raising penguin chicks. Clearly, she's a natural—in the span of two months, she learned to impersonate their pipping call ("our best replica of their language"), how to adapt to their changing needs as they grew, and to tell all eight chicks apart, even without their colored ID dots.
Ronnie Thomas, Penguin Chick Intern
For Ronnie Thomas, wildlife is a family affair. The daughter of the Bronx Zoo's longtime curator Pat Thomas, she practically grew at the zoo, and naturally, knew exactly what she wanted to do when she graduated from college. With her newly minted animal behavior degree, Ronnie's pretty psyched to have landed here in the Central Park Zoo's little slice of Antarctica. Her primary responsibilities in penguin care duty include taking weights, preparing fish, and keeping the record books up to date.
