Off To The Beach!

The Penguin chicks are off to the beach! See them on the live cam here.

Some information from Aquarium of the Pacific about the reason the chicks are separated from the rest of their family:

“One of the eggs was abandoned by the parents, a common occurrence in the wild. By the time the Aquarium’s second chick hatched, the first was already twice its size, so Aquarium biologists raised it by hand to ensure its survival. Now that the two chicks are near equal in size, they are being raised together for companionship. It is also important for the chicks to become accustomed to the biologists feeding them and get used to regular health checks, since the parents will not care for them when they are on exhibit. Likewise, in the wild, the parents go back to sea leaving the chicks to fend for themselves after fledging. At the Aquarium, they will have a team of experts to care for them daily.”