At the moment, they’re known as “B2” and “B3.”
But the downy-soft birds (hence the “B”) are much more than generic numbers.
In January, two African penguin chicks were born 13 days apart at the Georgia Aquarium, the first-ever penguin births at the marine life establishment.
A blood test in the next couple of weeks will determine their sexes, and within a month they should be on display along with the 43 other black and white aquatic birds who reside in the Georgia-Pacific Cold Water Quest section of the aquarium.
Jennifer Odell, associate curator of mammals and birds, said African penguins thrive in zoos and aquariums. But breeding might have taken longer than usual due to the overall youth of the Georgia Aquarium’s collection.
“[The penguins] compete for all types of resources, including mates,” she said.
Once a mate is determined and pregnancy is achieved, the male and female penguins take turns incubating the eggs and, after birth, stay with the chicks 60-90 days.
In the past year and a half, about 20 penguins were imported from a facility in South Africa for breeding purposes under the Species Survival Plan. In 2010, the penguin habitat underwent a significant renovation that included the addition of huts and sophisticated lighting -- factors thought to improve successful breeding.
The African penguin is an endangered species, with fewer than 26,000 pairs left in the wild as of 2010. Their biggest threat -- aside from oil spills and people encroaching on their territory -- is the movement of food sources, causing them to have to swim longer to locate a meal.
That isn’t an issue for the babies, currently about 6 pounds and a foot tall, at the Georgia Aquarium. They’ve graduated from their initial snacks of “fish slurry” -- fish blended with water -- and now dine on herring, squid, anchovies and sardines.
Digesting solid fish and losing the dryer lintlike fuzzy coating to expose their sleek adult waterproof feathers are the final gateways to young adulthood. When grown, they’ll weigh 7-12 pounds and stand about 2 feet tall.
But for now, Odell said, the aquarium staff will encourage natural behaviors, giving the penguin chicks children’s blocks and pieces of felt to play with and allowing them to walk around outside their enclosure to see other environments.
And come the December mating season, “we’ll continue to promote breeding,” Odell said.
Updates on the penguins are expected on the aquarium’s new blog, www.georgiaaquariumblog.org.
In another section of the facility -- the quarantine area -- a slew of other newbies reside: weedy sea dragons.
The 8,000-square foot area -- scaled down from the 40,000 square feet the aquarium used to have in an off-site warehouse, but upgraded technologically -- contains 43 independent life support systems where sea animals can reside during a minimum 45-day quarantine period.
“Unless it has feathers, fur or breathes air, it comes here first,” said Kevin Curlee, director of zoological operations, acquisitions and quarantine.
The brood of 56 inch-long weedies, which look like miniscule twigs swishing across their tank in packs, were actually born in the quarantine area. Though more than 100 hatched, a survival rate in excess of 40 percent is a triumph, Curlee said.
Though the weedy dragon isn’t considered threatened or endangered, the government in its homeland of Australia has deemed it a protected species.
The birth of the Georgia Aquarium brood is also the largest single “event” in the U.S. since the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, Calif., started raising weedies in 2005. Since the Long Beach births, weedy dragons have been born in the U.S. fewer than 10 times, Curlee said.
There is also an unusual twist to the breeding of the weedies: Females lay a clutch of eggs, usually more than 100, on the male’s tail. The eggs then remain with the male for the gestation period of 40-50 days.
Despite their diminutive stature -- adults can reach up to 18 inches -- the weedies are the most expensive animals in the aquarium to feed.
They feast on nearly invisible mysid shrimp -- about 13,000 per week -- which cost 3 or 9 cents each, depending on whether they were purchased or harvested at the aquarium.
Twenty-six adult weedy dragons currently reside at the aquarium, but they’ll soon be joined by dozens of up-and-comers.
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