On Aug. 19, 2019, with the sound of a crack, baby African penguin Xibao was hatched from her egg with the help of a penguin breeder. Xibao, hatched at Beluga Sanya Discovery Ocean World, was the first artificially incubated African penguin hatched in Hainan. Zhang Haohao, the penguin breeder, became Xibao’s “daddy”, and under his loving care, Xibao has grown up healthy and strong.

An animal lover turns penguin breeder

In February of 2019, after graduating, Zhang Haoahao decided to leave his home in Shandong and, due to Hainan’s talent policies, he came to work in Sanya. He had been an animal lover his whole life, and especially loved penguins. He thought they were super cute, and could cheer people up. That’s why he got a job at Beluga Sanya Discovery Ocean World as a penguin breeder, and began spending all his time with penguins.

“Our penguins are African penguins. They live on the southwest coast of Africa, where the temperatures are very similar to those in Sanya,” said Zhang Haohao.He explained that when he first arrived, the penguins were not very familiar with him, and thought he was an enemy. They would gang up and attack him. But gradually, as he interacted with them more, taking them swimming, feeding them, and more, they got more used to each other. 

“It was only after working with them for half a year that I could completely understand the penguins’ behavior, body language. how to prevent and treat some of their diseases, and some of their daily habits.” Zhang Haohao said that doing this work made him very compassionate, and extremely patient.

Zhang’s daily work revolves completely around the penguins. In addition to their twice daily feedings, regular disinfection, pool cleanings, and other work, Zhang and his colleagues also do artificial incubation work.

(Chen Mingwen)

Xibao, the first artificially incubated penguin

Zhang explained that penguins are monogamous, and often show affection to their partners by preening their feathers, “dancing” in circles, or singing. Soon, the fruit of their love appears, and on Aug. 19, 2019, Xibao, the first artificially incubated penguin in Hainan, was hatched.

“Since it was the first time for Xibao’s mom to breed, she accidentally stepped on one of the eggs.” Zhang recalled that after they discovered what had happened, they rushed the egg into the incubator, and had to help break open the egg manually. Xibao stayed in the incubator for a month, and during that entire time, the three breeders had to take turns caring for him overnight and all through the day, feeding him eight daily meals.

There’s more to artificial incubation than just that though. The team also needed to monitor and record the incubator’s temperature, humidity level, and other indicators, as well as regularly turn and air the egg, ensuring that it would develop properly.

“What’s the correct temperature for an African penguin’s habitat? How much humidity should there be? How much should they usually be fed? What do they eat? If the penguins fight, how do we keep them from getting injured?” Zhang thinks it’s not easy being a penguin breeder. He needs to constantly look up information, find solutions, and study penguin behavior and feeding requirements.

Zhang Haohao takes very good care of little Xibao, just as if the young penguin were his own child. Now, everyone calls him “penguin daddy”. Xibao has his own “villa” at the park, with temperatures similar to Africa in the springtime, around 20 degrees Celcius, which keeps the penguins healthy.

(Chen Mingwen)

Taking good care of the penguins and bringing in more visitors

Zhang not only loves Xibao with all his heart, but also takes good care of Xibao’s mom. When penguins molt, they need a lot of extra care, because the other penguins may bully it. Penguins are very sensitive to weakness, so when Xibao’s mom is getting ready to molt, she is kept separate from the others to protect her. They also give her more nutritional food, taking extra care of her and giving her special attention, plus extra fish.

“Here in the Hainan Free Trade Port, we will take even better care of the penguins here.” Zhang said that penguins are endangered, and are a Class II protected species in China. He hopes that they can breed even more penguins, and allow even more people to come and see the penguins with their own eyes in Hainan, learning more about penguins and other ocean creatures, as well as how to protect the precious resources of the ocean.

(Chen Mingwen)