Meet Miss Harold Custard, one of the newest residents of the Two Oceans Aquarium at the V&A Waterfront.
If you think Harold sounds like an unusual name for a girl penguin, you’d be right - it is!
When Miss Harold, now four-months-old, was a chick, it was thought the little penguin was a male, “and due to her discerning character, the name Harold seemed appropriate”, said said Ronnis Daniels of the SA Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (Sanccob).
And the tip of the penguin’s beak was yellow, “which gave the impression that she dipped her beak in custard”.
And so, “Custard” was added to Harold’s name. “But after doing the blood tests to determine the chick’s sex, it was confirmed that she was, in fact, a female rockhopper” said Ronnis.
Miss Harold is a northern rockhopper penguin which hatched on September 23, 2016 in the chick rearing unit at Sanccob after almost full-term incubation at the aquarium by the parent birds, Roxy and Grommet.
Miss Harold Custard is the second of Roxy and Grommet’s chicks, with Clax, also female, having hatched at the aquarium in October 2014.
Roxy and Grommet are fairly inexperienced parents and it was decided to remove the egg for final-stage incubation at the Sanccob facility, as the risk of unsuccessful rearing by the parent birds was too high.
“We were thrilled that Sanccob could step in and take on the role of penguin parents. This resulted in the successful rearing of our beautiful little rockhopper chick. Sanccob not only does phenomenal seabird rehabilitation work, but also contributes to the conservation and husbandry research of many seabird species. A huge big thank you to their very dedicated and committed team,” said Maryke Musson, curator of the Two Oceans Aquarium.
Miss Custard has joined the rockhopper colony in the penguin exhibit at the aquarium. The rockhopper penguins in this exhibit were found stranded on southern Cape beaches, rescued and then rehabilitated by Sanccob before being donated to the aquarium.
They cannot be released due to the risk of introducing possible viruses or bacteria into wild populations.
Northern rockhopper penguins are found in the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
They penguins have been classified as an endangered species.
Rockhopper penguins are the smallest of the crested penguin species. They live on rocky, inaccessible coasts. Due to their incredible jumping ability, they are recognised as “mountaineers” among penguins.
“Miss Harold Custard is getting to know her human Aquarium family, just like we are getting to know her,” said Renee Leeuwner, spokeswoman for the aquarium.
“She is still learning to be
in a colony and she is very curious, she likes to investigate and she is a bit slow as she is still young.