A three-month-old Humboldt penguin named Robin has waddled her way into Brookfield Zoo's colony, becoming the only chick of her species hatched there this year. She hatched July 7 to first-time parents Sofi and Klaus, and after a rocky introduction to the other birds, zoo staff say she is already swimming circles around expectations.
Robin was moved as an egg and placed with foster parents Cara and Popero, who had successfully raised chicks before, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. She spent her first three weeks under their care before zoo experts stepped in to help raise her. Humboldt penguin chicks are born covered in down feathers that make swimming difficult for the first few months, but the Sun-Times reports Robin showed an interest in entering the water at a very young age.
A Fast Learner in the Water
Animal care specialist Amanda Mansfield said Robin reached swimming milestones faster than anticipated. “She’s definitely jumped the milestones a lot faster than we anticipated her to do,” Mansfield said, according to the Sun-Times. Mansfield also noted that penguins instinctively swim once they reach a certain milestone, and Robin was spotted swimming in the Humboldt penguin habitat Friday morning.
Mansfield described Robin as “a tenacious little girl” who will serve as an ambassador for wild Humboldt penguins. Robin joined the colony last week and is still learning to make friends, the outlet's report notes. She was poked by a couple of the older penguins during the introduction, which Mansfield described as normal penguin communication rather than conflict.
Learning the Ropes in a Crowded Colony
Brookfield Zoo is home to 24 Humboldt penguins, per the Sun-Times, though a separate report from CBS News Chicago puts the zoo's breeding and non-breeding colonies at 30 Humboldt penguins combined. Either way, Robin now has plenty of company to figure out as she settles into her new home. Humboldt penguins are social birds that form large colonies, according to Brookfield Zoo, which also notes the species can dive up to 40 feet and stay underwater for about two minutes.
The species is native to the coasts of Peru and Chile along the Humboldt Current, and CBS News Chicago reports that Brookfield is one of 20 Association of Zoos and Aquariums institutions caring for Humboldt penguins. Visitors can watch the colony's penguins swim and waddle through their habitat, and may catch animal care specialists feeding them, per the Sun-Times.
A Species Under Pressure in the Wild
Wild Humboldt penguin numbers continue to slide. Brookfield Zoo's own animal profile states that the species' population is declining due to overfishing, habitat loss, and climate change, and that Humboldt penguins are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. CBS News Chicago reports that researchers estimate the wild population at less than 24,000 and that it continues to decline due to several factors including climate change and severe weather.
Brookfield Zoo supports conservation efforts to protect wild Humboldt penguins and works closely with Punta San Juan, a protected rocky peninsula and wildlife reserve in Peru's southern Ica region, according to the Sun-Times. The zoo's own conservation page states that the Punta San Juan field research program launched in 2007, beginning with health assessments of wild Humboldt penguins before expanding into broader marine ecosystem research. Brookfield Zoo Chicago sends members of its veterinary team to Punta San Juan each year, and the program also tracks the effects of El Niño and avian influenza, both of which can greatly harm the wild penguin population.
Other zoos offer a sense of scale for what long-term breeding programs can achieve. Woodland Park Zoo's Humboldt penguin colony currently consists of 34 penguins, and the zoo has successfully raised 98 chicks since its first breeding season in 2010, according to a release from Woodland Park Zoo. That same release states that approximately 23,800 Humboldt penguins survive in their natural range.
Foster Parenting Has Worked Before
Brookfield has leaned on foster parents for hatchlings before. A 2024 Brookfield chick was raised by foster parents Divot and Rosie, who were chosen based on their record of raising their own chicks in 2021 and 2022 and then fostering another pair's chick in 2023, Brookfield Zoo Chicago previously told the Chicago Sun-Times. That collaboration between Brookfield and the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium was made possible through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Species Survival Plan.
For now, Robin remains the lone 2026 arrival in Brookfield's colony, still sorting out her place among the older birds while drawing attention as the zoo's newest swimmer. Brookfield also served as the primary filming location for the holiday movie Christmas at the Zoo, which premieres on Tubi on November 10.
