[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2017\/04\/penguin-babies-magee-babies\/#Article","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2017\/04\/penguin-babies-magee-babies\/","headline":"From Our Hearts to Yours: African Penguin Chicks and Magee Babies","name":"From Our Hearts to Yours: African Penguin Chicks and Magee Babies","description":"We took a look at how our babies at Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC compare to the little ones at the National Aviary.","datePublished":"2017-04-25","dateModified":"2022-04-26","author":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.upmc.com\/services\/women-regions","name":"UPMC Magee-Womens","url":"https:\/\/www.upmc.com\/services\/women-regions","sameAs":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/upmc-magee-womens-hospital\/","parentOrganization":"UPMC"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"UPMC HealthBeat","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/UPMC-HealthBeat-Logo.png","url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/UPMC-HealthBeat-Logo.png","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/baby-penguins-hero-1.jpg","url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/baby-penguins-hero-1.jpg","height":325,"width":754},"url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2017\/04\/penguin-babies-magee-babies\/","about":["Pregnancy and Childbirth","Women's Health"],"wordCount":351,"keywords":["Babies","National Aviary","womens health"],"articleBody":"One waddles, one crawls. One\u2019s covered in fluffy down feathers. The other has delicate, oh-so-soft skin.We took a look at how our babies at Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC compare to the little ones at the National Aviary, which is located in Pittsburgh. Tiny BundlesWhen baby African penguins hatch, they weigh just under 2 ounces, on average.Human babies typically weigh between 5 and 10 pounds at birth.A Special OccasionMother African penguins lay eggs once per year in the wild, and sometimes two or three times a year while at the Aviary.The average human mother has two or three children over the course of her lifetime.Worth the WaitThe incubation period for mother African penguins is about 38 days.The average length of human gestation is about 280 days \u2014 or 40 weeks.A Little Help from DadAfrican penguins are monogamous during breeding season. And dads play a big role in incubation, the period when penguins sit on eggs until they are ready to hatch.After a mother penguin lays her eggs, she and the father penguin take turns incubating. One keeps the eggs warm while the other forages for food in the wild.First AppearancesWhen African penguins hatch, they are covered in soft gray feathers. They lose this plumage after about six weeks, and it is replaced with \u201cjuvenile plumage.\u201d It takes about a year and a half for penguins to get their signature black and white feathering.Newborn humans arrive to the world with soft, delicate skin \u2014 sometimes with a head of hair and sometimes totally bald.Under Your WingJuvenile African penguins stay with mom for about six months before they\u2019re ready to go off on their own.Human mothers and their offspring can enjoy a lifelong bond.\u201cAfrican Penguins are critically endangered,\u201d said Christopher Gaus, senior aviculturalist at the National Aviary. \u201cThe population has declined by about 98 percent, and we\u2019re trying to save them from extinction.\u201dThe National Aviary is a supporter of SAFE: Saving Animals From Extinction.Editor's Note: This article was originally published on April 25, 2017, and was last reviewed on April 26, 2022."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2017","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2017\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"04","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2017\/\/04\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"From Our Hearts to Yours: African Penguin Chicks and Magee Babies","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2017\/04\/penguin-babies-magee-babies\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]