By AP/KWMU
St. Louis, MO – The St. Louis Zoo's Penguin and Puffin coast has its first newborns since the exhibit opened two years ago.
A pair of king penguins hatched a fluffy brown chick on April 11. The zoo announced the birth Wednesday.
Zoo officials say the king penguins work as a team to rear their single chick. After the female lays an egg, they take turns keeping the egg warm under a flap of belly skin.
The chick hatches in about 55 days; the parents continue to keep it warm for more than a month until it grows too large to cover. They continue to share feeding duties for about eight months.