Ripley’s names its new penguin chick after Myrtle Beach real estate mogul
Now weighing nearly 4.5 pounds, Myrtle Beach’s new adorable African penguin chick is well on his way to joining the rest of the colony at the Ripley’s Aquarium.
And now, he has a name — Egerton!
He’s named for Egerton Burroughs, the real estate mogul and CEO of Burroughs and Chapin, which built Broadway at the Beach, where the aquarium now sits.
“We watched him grow in the egg over time. It was just crazy to think after it hatched that was growing and getting so big but used to be in this little tiny egg,” said Kristin Forquer, one of the chick’s caretaker’s and a senior aviculturalist for Ripley’s. “So it’s just super exciting.”
Egerton, nicknamed “The Edge,” is a little over two months old now. He is actively shedding his baby down feathers, and once they all fall off, he’ll get to start his swimming lessons.
He’s about a foot and a half tall now, and the aquarium staff will begin to introduce him to the rest of the colony in another two months. He can’t go just yet, because the other penguins might beat him up. Yes, penguins can be bullies, apparently.
Right now, Egerton lives in the penguin colony’s isolation room, which is where he will also learn to swim.
“He’s two months old. So he is starting to move around a lot more. He’s a little more alert,” Forquer said. “He’s getting his personality a little bit more now. So he’s not sleeping constantly all the time.”
Once he has his adult feathers, in about a year, Egerton will look much more like the rest of the colony.
But that doesn’t mean aquarium staff won’t be able to tell him apart.
“They have white on their chest; they also have these black spots on their chest as well,” Forquer said. “Every penguin’s spots are different on their chest, and it’s almost like a human fingerprint. So we can actually look at all of these penguins to know exactly which one it is.”
“The Edge” won’t be the last African penguin chick born at the aquarium. As part of the species survival plan, Forquer said the aquarium hopes to hatch another two chicks in the next two years.
“It is a great accomplishment for us to already have a penguin chick. Our penguins haven’t even been here for a whole year yet,” she said. “Thanks to our team here. We did a really good job to get ready for that. It’s a lot of hard work, but it was definitely worth it.”
Anyone wanting to visit Egerton can stop by the Penguin Playhouse exhibit at the aquarium where Egerton has a live video feed. In the coming weeks, visitors might also be able to see him swimming in the exhibit, too!
Oh, and one more random penguin fact:
They poop every five to 10 minutes.
