Precious penguin, tiny turtles, pint-sized puffers part of baby boom at Tennessee Aquarium

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WZTV) — A precious penguin, tiny turtles and pint-sized puffers are making up a mid-summer baby boom at the Tennessee Aquarium.

The aquarium in Chattanooga is celebrating the arrival of a Gentoo penguin chick, two turtle hatchlings and three pufferfish.

The Gentoo Penguin chick started leaving its egg on June 22, coming into the world just two days later to parents Flower and Blue.

The day after it hatched, the little ball of fluff weighed about 4.5 ounces. Now, the petite penguin weighs in at 5.3 lbs. Aquarium officials say that’s a weight increase of more than 1,800 percent.

“If a human child were to grow at the same rate, a newborn weighing seven pounds at birth would tip the scales at 127 pounds four weeks later,” The Tennessee Aquarium’s Casey Phillips writes.

Those close to the petite penguin say its personality is getting bigger too!

“For the first two weeks, it was pretty mellow, just looking around and studying everything,” Loribeth Lee, the Aquarium’s senior aviculturist said. “Once two weeks hit, though, it developed a strong personality and loves to yell and slap at anything that moves too close!”

The little penguin chick is still being fed by its parents, but will make the move to solid foods in the next two weeks. Aquarium visitors can watch the penguin in its nest or watch the rest of the Gentoo and Macaroni Penguins through a livestream here. tnaqua.org/live/penguins-rock/.

In a huge surprise, the aquarium is also now looking after two endangered four-eyed turtle hatchlings.

A volunteer tending to an enclosure on July 11 discovered that the aquarium’s endangered adult four-eyed turtle wasn’t alone. They found a tiny hatchling sitting on top of a layer of vegetation - cause for shell-ebration!

“The adult female hadn’t been with a male in over a year, so we did not check to see if she had laid this year,” says Bill Hughes, the Aquarium’s herpetology coordinator. “To say the least, finding an egg, let alone a hatchling, was unexpected.”

The surprise hatchling joins another baby Four-eyed that hatched on June 10 that had been monitored by employees. The aquarium is happy to report that both tiny turtles are eating and doing well.

Since 2000, the turtle species only known to be found in Southeast Asia has been listed as endangered. The Tennessee Aquarium has hatched 47 Four-eyed turtles since 2007.

“These turtles fall under a Species Survival Plan that I manage,” Hughes added. “Increasing their population is a long-term goal, so every hatchling is a step further in the right direction.”

Inside the Ocean Journey building, the aquarium is raising three two-month-old pufferfish. With a diet of brine shrimp, aquarium representatives say the pufferfish are growing in size like balloons inflating in slow motion.

“These are definitely one of the cutest fish we work with, especially as babies,” Senior Aquarist Kyle McPheeters said. “But even the adults have a really outgoing personality and a very expressive face.”

The pint-sized puffers are expected to be placed on display at the new larval fish exhibit in the Ocean Journey building in the fall.