Two penguin chicks were born in the Mumbai-based Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan, popularly known as the Byculla zoo, since May this year, Mayor Kishori Pednekar said, days after a controversy over the Rs 15.26 crore tender floated by the civic body for the upkeep of the birds at the facility.

In a press conference at the zoo, Pednekar said the tender will continue till 2024, and claimed the zoo's income significantly went up after the arrival of penguins at the civic-run facility in 2016. She said a chick was born to the breeding pair of Humboldt penguins - 'Molt' (male) and 'Flipper' (female) - on August 19, while another pair of the birds - 'Donald (male) and 'Daisy' (female) - gave birth to a male chick named 'Oreo' on May 1.