LOOK – Critically endangered penguin hatches at Colorado zoo

If you need some cuteness in your life, you just have to look in Colorado Springs at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.

An African penguin chick hatched April 8 at the zoo and currently weighs 983 grams, 901 grams up from its first weight of 82 grams on April 11.

According to the zoo, the tiny chick is an “important ambassador” for the African penguins, which were officially uplisted to “critically endangered” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List in 2024. The number of wild breeding pairs has fallen below 10,000 and could be extinct in the wild by 2035 if the trend continues.

The zoo suggests guests keep an eye out for the new chick in the penguin building located in Water’s Edge Africa. It’s usually snuggled up in its nest, but guests may see it wriggle out, or even hear it peeping.