Baby penguin at Pittsburgh Zoo adopted by parents of different species

PITTSBURGH (WBOY) — After a marcaroni penguin egg was discarded by its parents at the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium, the chick has found a new home with a family of gentoo penguins, making it the first multi-species family at the zoo.

Hat Trick, or Hatty for short, was given to her adoptive parents, Mambo and Cookie, as an egg, and according to a press release from the zoo, they “immediately took to the egg and did a fantastic job of incubating it.” After 35 days, Hattie hatched with a little help from zoo staff on Mother’s Day and was placed in the nest of her adoptive parents who “immediately welcomed the chick and have been fantastic parents.”

According to the zoo, it is common for macaroni penguins to lay two eggs in a clutch and then smash or discard the first egg. Hatty was small when she hatched, about 61 grams according to the zoo, but with care from her gentoo penguin parents and additional feeling from zoo staff, she is growing strong.

Hatty will not move into her ice habitat with the combined colony of both macaroni and gentoo penguins for several weeks because her feathers aren’t waterproof yet, but she did get a recent visit from Pittsburgh Penguins Head Coach Mike Sullivan, who said, “We love to visit the real penguins in their habitat and see their personalities. Some remind me of a few of our Penguins players!”

The distinctive yellow head feather marking her as a macaroni will not be visible until she is about a year old.

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