After nearly a month of waiting to hear the pitter patter of tiny feet, the colony of seven Humboldt penguins at Byculla zoo welcomed their newest member on Wednesday evening. The chick, which hatched from its egg at 8.02 pm at Veermata Jijabai Bhosle Udyan and Zoological park, is being touted as the first baby penguin to be born in India.

Rare birth
Since the egg was laid on July 5, veterinarians have been monitoring the proud parents — three-year-old Molt and his female partner 4.5-year-old Flipper. Zoo director Sanjay Tripathi was ecstatic about the newest addition. "It's a wonder, since Humboldt penguins across the world generally breed only after they're over 4.5 years old. This is a rare case, since they're still so young," he said.