SINGAPORE — Three new King penguins were hatched recently at Jurong Bird Park and the public may now view them at the indoor Penguin Coast exhibit.

Percy, Brix and Arlo were artificially incubated at the park’s Breeding and Research Centre to “maximise chances of a successful hatching”, Wildlife Reserves Singapore, which manages the park, said in a press release on Monday (May 27).

The chicks came from the eggs of different sets of parents and hatched across a span of three weeks.

Percy, a male, emerged in February. Brix, a female, hatched in March, followed by Arlo, a male, in the same month.

They were each about 200g when they hatched, and have grown to about 7kg to 10kg each.

The young penguins may be spotted within the confines of a corral or enclosure at the Penguin Coast exhibit.

Since they are not able to swim yet, the corral is there to prevent them from being accidentally knocked into the waters by the adult penguins.

Avian keepers had looked after the newly hatched chicks for a couple of months before they were introduced to the rest of the King penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) colony.

This brings the number of King penguins at the park to 17. There are five other species there: African, Gentoo, Humboldt, Macaroni and the Rockhopper.

King penguins can weigh up to 15kg, grow up to almost a metre in height, and live up to 30 years under human care. They are the world’s second largest penguin species after the Emperor penguin.

King penguin chicks are dark grey and develop a dark brown down after a month. After around nine months, they will develop their adult plumage.

The last time the park saw a successful hatching of a King penguin — named Maru — was in 2017.