Moody Gardens welcomes 2 new adorable macaroni penguin chicks bred by Galveston biologists

GALVESTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Moody Gardens in Galveston Island welcomed two new healthy macaroni penguin chicks in November after biologists say they had a successful breeding season.

The siblings are native to the Sub-Antarctic region and first chick hatched on Nov. 6 and weighed 62 grams, the second hatched on Nov. 9 and weighed 124 grams.

"We are overjoyed and extremely grateful for these new chicks that have now joined the exhibit here at Moody Gardens and that our Macaroni penguins have had multiple years of successful breeding," senior biologist Maggie Reynolds said.

The proud penguin parents are Bleu, a male who came to Moody Gardens from Montreal, and Feta, who arrived at Moody Gardens in 2016 from SeaWorld San Diego.

Moody Gardens says they will educate people about the issues that these birds may face in the wild. They say they're listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red.

"By having these birds in our collection and showing the public how important these issues are, we are able to share the many ways that these populations can be helped in nature," Aquarium curator Diane Olsen said.

The new penguins join five other species in their new home including Gentoo, Chinstrap, King, and Northern and Southern Rockhopper penguins.

You can find the adorable new chicks inside of the Aquarium Pyramid in the south Atlantic exhibit or on the Penguin Webcam.