Two 4-month-old little blue penguin ambassadors have found a new home in the Roo Valley of the Cincinnati Zoo. Mars and Rover hatched on January 13th and 14th. They were the first zoo babies for the zoo in 2021. “Mars and Rover hatched for a day and were raised together and introduced to the same things at the same time,” said Rickey Kinley, bird team leader. Grew up and now take their place in the colony of other little blue penguins in the Roo Valley. “Introducing colonies takes time and patience,” said Cody Sowers, director of the Cincinnati Zoo’s bird team. “We put them together with younger members of the group first and then add more people to the mix until they’re ready to join the entire colony.” The Cincinnati Zoo has the largest colony of small blue penguins in North America. There are more than 30 little blue penguins in the residence and most of them have food or car-themed names like Pierogi and Edsel. However, Mars and Rover hatched just before NASA’s rover successfully landed on Mars. The bird team decided this event was big enough to break normal naming conventions. The bird team also just found out that Mars is a boy and Rover is a girl. Zoo visitors can keep an eye on the couple in their new habitat. The penguins can be recognized by the colored ribbons on their wings. The Martian ribbon is made up of green and red pearls, and Rover’s is blue. Although masks are not required in most of the zoo’s outdoor areas, masks are required in the Roo Valley.
CINCINNATI –
Two 4-month-old little blue penguin ambassadors have found a new home in the Roo Valley of the Cincinnati Zoo.
Mars and Rover hatched on January 13th and 14th. They were the first zoo babies for the zoo in 2021.
“Mars and Rover slipped apart for a day and were raised together and introduced to the same things at the same time,” said Rickey Kinley, bird team leader.
The two were hand-raised and now take their place in the colony of other little blue penguins in the Roo Valley.
“Introducing colonies takes time and patience,” said Cody Sowers, director of the Cincinnati Zoo’s bird team. “We put them together with younger members of the group first and add more people to the mix until they’re ready to join the entire colony.”
The Cincinnati Zoo has the largest colony of small blue penguins in North America. There are more than 30 little blue penguins in the residence and most of them have food or car-themed names like Pierogi and Edsel. However, Mars and Rover hatched just before NASA’s rover successfully landed on Mars. The bird team decided this event was big enough to break normal naming conventions.
The bird team also just found out that Mars is a boy and Rover is a girl.
Zoo visitors can keep an eye on the couple in their new habitat. The penguins can be recognized by the colored ribbons on their wings. The Martian ribbon is made up of green and red pearls, and Rover’s is blue.
Although masks are not required in most of the zoo’s outdoor areas, masks are required in the Roo Valley.
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