First test-tube baby penguin says hello to the world

The still unnamed baby Magellanic penguin was hatched at
SeaWorld in San Diego 12 weeks ago, but the first images of
her were released to the public this week.

She’s the first
penguin to be born using artificial insemination ,
a technique researchers say will help them increase diversity
in the captive penguin population and help their studies of the
creatures.

“The goal of our research center is to study a species’
reproductive biology, to learn as much as we can about that
and use this to not only monitor the health of not only our
zoological populations but wild populations as well,” said Sea
World’s reproductive center Scientific Director Dr. Justine
O’Brien.

The baby penguin is reportedly doing well. Twelve weeks after
her birth, she is mingling with the natural-born penguin
population and has transitioned from being hand-fed by a
team of biologists to eating fish on her own.