Batu eco park 'lockdown' gives birth to new Humboldt penguin chicks

An underwater viewing gallery offers a glimpse of Humboldt penguins as they swim on April 25, 2018 in a pond at Eco Green Education Park in Batu, East Java. (JP/Nedi Putra AW)

Eco Green Education Park has welcomed two new members of its Humboldt penguin family at the zoo in Batu, East Java.

Eco Green park said that the natural breeding program for the South American bird species, Spheniscus humboldti, had succeeded during its temporary closure during the outbreak.

Operations manager Deny Rina Sari said that the part was elated about the good news.

“The veterinarians and keepers only monitored the [hatching] process and provided [the animals] with a nest and food,” she told The Jakarta Post on Sunday. “Like other animals, penguins are quite protective of their [offspring],” she added.

The parent penguins had been observed mating in early March, and the eggs were laid in late April.

The female penguin stayed in the nest during the early days of incubation, while the male guarded the pair's nest against other penguins.

It took 30 to 40 days before the first egg hatched on May 5, which was followed by the second egg two days later.

“We named the chicks Nakula and Sadewa,” said Rina.

Nakula and Sadewa are the 12th and 13th members of the park's Humboldt penguin family.

As almost all zoos in the country closed their doors in compliance with the government's COVID-19 policy for tourist sites, Rina said the park had ensured that its procedures adhered to the health emergency protocol by  maintaining hygiene and sanitation for its workers, enclosures and animal feed.

Rina said that the zoo's closure over the past two months had contributed to the penguins' successful breeding, as the birds were calmer and less stressed.

She also expressed her hope that the parent penguins would lay more eggs, and that the eco-education park could reopen its doors soon.

Eco Green Education Park is part of the Jatim Park Group that operates Jatim Park, a popular amusement park in its namesake province of Java Timur (East Java).

The group's marketing and public relations manager, Titik Ariyanto, said that the company was adhering to the government’s COVID-19 mitigation policy and had closed all of its parks, including Eco Green Education Park, Secret Zoo and Predator Fun Park.

“However, all workers and keepers at those parks are still in our employ, considering that our [parks'] collections are living animals,” said Titik. 

She also expressed hope that the COVID-19 epidemic would end so that the tourism sector in Batu could be restored.

Jatim Park Group is current running fund-raisers and working with a variety of institutions to maintain the animals’ upkeep, care and health. (JakartaPost)