Macaroni Penguin chick recently hatched at Tennessee Aquarium

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — The Tennessee Aquarium is celebrating its newest Macaroni Penguin chick.

Guests visiting the aquarium will get to see the newest addition to Penguins’ Rock during the Fourth of July holiday.

The aquarium said the chick hatched on June 2, 2024. Its parents are penguins Bacon and Merlin. This is the first baby of Bacon, a penguin who hatched in 2015.

The Tennessee Aquarium’s recently hatched Macaroni Penguin chick receives one of several weekly checkups.

They laid the egg in late April 2024, not long after the aquarium’s “Rock Day.”

“It seems like it has a little type A personality,” says Assistant Curator of Forests Loribeth Lee. “It cracked the egg perfectly, straight down the middle. We’ve never really seen that.”

Tennessee Aquarium officials said the chick is very fluffy and growing quickly. Additionally, the aquarium is now home to three generations of Macaroni Penguins for the first time ever.

The aquarium said they will know the gender of the chick in November. Also this fall, the public will get to help choose the chick’s name.

The last penguin hatchling was in 2021 and was a Gentoo Penguin named Carla. The last time a Macaroni Penguin hatched at the Tennessee Aquarium was in 2019.

There are now 23 penguins at the aquarium. There are nine Macaroni and 14 Gentoo Penguins.

Watch the Aquarium’s Live Penguin’s Rock webcam here.