SAN DIEGO — A rare emperor penguin chick has hatched at SeaWorld San Diego, overcoming long odds to become the first new arrival in more than a decade.

What You Need To Know

  • Pearl is the first emperor penguin chick to hatch at SeaWorld San Diego in 10 years

  • Emperor penguin chicks are rare in captivity

  • When Pearl’s parents stopped incubating her egg, the SeaWorld team stepped in to save her

  • The team kept the egg warm and helped when Pearl struggled to break through her thick shell

Pearl is the first emperor penguin chick to hatch at SeaWorld San Diego in 10 years. Melissa Ramsey, the Penguin Encounter supervisor, said all their adult penguins — from the emperors to the kings and macaronis — are obsessed with little Pearl.

“They hear these adorable vocalizations throughout the day and rush over and hang out right next to her area, just to hear her and see her,” Ramsey said.

Emperor penguin chicks are rare in captivity. The moms only lay one egg a year, and not all of them are fertile. When Pearl’s parents stopped incubating her egg, the SeaWorld team stepped in to save her. Not only did the team keep the egg warm, but when Pearl struggled to break through her thick shell, they gave her a hand.

Pearl is now about 3 months old, and Justin Brackett, the curator of birds at SeaWorld San Diego, said she is growing up fast. For now, she is in a playpen of sorts inside Penguin Encounter, since her little baby feathers are not yet waterproof.

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Brackett said SeaWorld San Diego is the only place in the Western Hemisphere where you can find emperor penguins. He hopes Pearl can teach them more about the mysterious species and how they can help protect them in the wild.

“This is such a great opportunity to learn and really get a sense of what happens as far as the development of the chicks goes,” Brackett said. “Now, Pearl is never going to go out to Antarctica, but because it’s so hard to study an emperor penguin and their development in the wild, this represents such a unique opportunity for us to learn more about them, and also for her to serve as an ambassador for her species. And you couldn’t have a more adorable spokesperson for the needs of emperor penguins out in the wild.”

The team at SeaWorld is proud of how far Pearl has already come.

“So many new firsts for her in her life and it’s just amazing to watch her grow up and explore the world around her,” Ramsey said.

Pearl’s caretakers said she will grow up to be about 60 pounds. Pearl should get some of her adult waterproof feathers in the next few months and will then join all the other penguins. You can view Pearl and the other penguins at SeaWorld San Diego.