Zoo Babies

A male southern rockhopper penguin chick, named Nio, hatched on Dec. 9, 2025. This is an important hatching for the Zoo as fewer than 20 of these penguins hatched in 2023 in North America. He is also the first southern rockhopper penguin chick at the Indianapolis Zoo since 2012.  Nio has fledged, and you can get a glimpse of him in the habitat with the rest of the penguin colony. 

In the wild, southern rockhopper penguins are assessed and listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.  Their populations are rapidly shrinking, due to changes in their habitats and food supply, mostly from rising ocean temperatures and weather events caused by climate change.  

Learn more about the penguins at the Zoo here  and experience them for yourself by visiting Oceans at the Zoo!