Watch: Gentoo Penguin Chick Gets Weigh-In At Milwaukee County Zoo

MILWAUKEE, WI — A baby Gentoo penguin is growing quickly and will soon go behind the scenes for a bit of training after hatching at the Milwaukee County Zoo in December, the zoo announced Thursday.

The fuzzy little bird doesn't have a name yet and zookeepers will figure out what sex it is with a blood sample by the time it is 3 months old, according to a news release from the zoo. The chick was born to fellow Gentoo penguins Fiona and Oscar.

The penguins, described by zookeepers as curious and active birds, are native to the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic regions.

The newly hatched chick weighed in at 107 grams during its first weigh-in. When young, the birds eat partially digested fish regurgitated from their parents' beaks.

"Oscar and Fiona are primarily sitting on it or standing next to it to keep the chick warm for the time being," the zoo wrote. "Gentoo penguins instinctually never leave their offspring unattended for the first month of life. And they shouldn’t, because the chick doesn’t yet have waterproof feathers and it could start wandering outside the nest and possibly fall into the water."

The chick will be brought behind the scenes for fledging in mid-January, the zoo said, where zookeepers will teach it to eat on its own and scale train. About 4-6 weeks later, the chick's waterproof feathers will come in and it will be re-introduced to the public. At that point, the zoo said the chick will be hard to tell apart from its parents.

The chick is the only one from 2022 at the Milwaukee County Zoo, the zoo said.