Two Newly Hatched Penguin Chicks To Go To 'Fish School'

San Francisco: Two African penguin chicks have recently hatched at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, officials announced Tuesday.

The gray, fluffy chicks hatched just days apart on November 1 and November 4 and are nesting with their parents, the academy said. The chicks the size of a tea cup will go through "fish school" where they will learn to become proficient swimmers and get comfortable with eating hand-fed fish. Once they are ready they will join the penguin colony on exhibit in late January.

The academy's new chicks are the second and third to be hatched as part of its Species Survival Plan program. In January 2013, the academy hatched its first chicksince moving into its new Golden Gate Park facility in 2008.

African penguins were classified as an endangered species in 2010 and are at very high risk of extinction in the wild. "By engaging the public about why sustaining these and other threatened species is so critical, we hope to inspire people around the world to join us by supporting conservation efforts locally and internationally," said Bart Shepherd, Director of the Academy's Steinhart Aquarium.