Tennessee Aquarium ‘Rock Day’ begins penguin breeding season

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — Monday was Rock Day at the Tennessee Aquarium. This signifies the beginning of breeding season for their penguins.

“They know that it’s breeding season. They know that it’s nesting time by the length of day. So, their lights are either constantly getting- their days are getting longer or shorter. And so, they know that it’s time. And they’re very excited for rock day,” said Lori Beth Lee, Assistant Curator of Forest for the Tennessee Aquarium.

They are given about 800 pounds of smooth or jagged rocks to choose from.

Then they start building their nests.

Gentoo Penguin Carla selects a rock for her nest during “Rock Day,” which begins penguin nesting season at the Tennessee Aquarium.

“We start putting rocks out today. And we will keep adding to them all week long,” Lee said. “We kind of put the rocks in piles. And it’s their job to go to those piles, choose the rocks they want and carry them back to their nesting site and build their nest.”

Penguins will pair up, lay eggs and protect them together.

The aquarium has 14 Gentoo and eight Macaroni penguins.

“Just because we have an even number of penguins does not mean that they’re going to all pair up. So, we do have some young Macaroni’s that haven’t quite figured out what breeding season is about yet. And we have some birds that just aren’t interested in pairing up together,” Lee explained.

These birds constantly work on perfecting their nests until breeding season ends.

Macaroni Penguin Hercules selects a rock for his nest during “Rock Day,” which begins penguin nesting season at the Tennessee Aquarium.

“They steal rocks from their neighbors. So, they might notice a rock in somebody else’s nest, and they decide they want it. And they’ll sneak up and get it,” Lee added. “So, it’s always a work in progress.”

Sometimes they may get a little aggressive.

“Aggression is a little more increased but again that’s normal. So, we want them to be protective of their nests. They have those natural instincts that they would in Antarctica,” Lee said.

There is a 50/50 chance of babies hatching from these eggs.

“If we do get babies, we will make sure that we let people know. But usually, we’re going to say, the height of summer. That’s a really good time,” Lee said. “The birds will stay on exhibit; chicks will stay on exhibit as long as their parents are taking good care of them.”

Babies will then leave their nests near the end of August.

“If you can’t come visit us right away, we do have a webcam. You can tune in and you can watch these guys 24/7,” Lee added.

Find the Tennessee Aquarium’s live webcams here.