An aquarium in New Jersey welcomed two new residents, just in time for the holidays. On December 20, staff at Adventure Aquarium in Camden revealed the recent births of Duffy and Oscar, a pair of African penguins (Spheniscus demersus) and some much needed good news in light of ongoing conservation c oncerns.“These milestones are incredibly important for the critically endangered African penguin population, and we couldn’t be more proud to play a role in their future,” the aquarium just outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania wrote in a social media post. Although the current climate crisis has undoubtedly exacerbated the issue, the African penguin’s battle against diminishing numbers stretches as far back as 22,000 years. Also known as black-footed, Cape, or jackass penguins, these birds once thrived across 15 large islands off the coast of South Africa during the Last Glacial Maximum period. At their peak, their populations reached an estimated 6.4 million and 18.8 million individuals at their peak. However, around 15,000 to 20,000 years ago, warming global temperatures began to cause ocean levels to rise, eventually sinking much of the African penguins’ original habitats. Combined with ecological collapse, only around 19,800 adults are believed to live outside zoological facilities today, most on small islands near South Africa. In 2024, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (ICUN) Red List reclassified African penguins from “Endangered” to “Critically Endangered.” Although habitat preservation is a key component to the birds’ future, their chances are better thanks to breeding efforts at places like Adventure Aquarium. Duffy and Oscar are the 51st and 52nd African penguins born at the facility, and hatched a little over a year since the birth of the team’s last penguin siblings, Gabby and Shubert. Although consecutive years of additional penguins would be a welcome boon to their numbers, conservationists aren’t so lucky. Prior to Gabby and Shubert, Adventure Aquarium hadn’t hosted new hatchlings since 2020. “Experts predict that African penguins could be functionally extinct by 2035 if conservation efforts are not prioritized, emphasizing the important work of the Adventure Aquarium biologists and husbandry team in protecting and conserving the species,” the organization explained in a statement. As for how Duffy and Oscar got their names: Duffy is in honor of a longtime aquarium staff member, while her brother’s moniker has much more humble origins. Like his dad, Myer, Oscar is named after the humble hot dog. The post Newborn African penguin named after a hot dog appeared first on Popular Science. ...read more read less