Taipei City Zoo announced during its Oceanic Ecology Con-servation Fun Fair yesterday the name of Taiwan's first baby king penguin, born on Sept. 18.
The baby penguin will be called Heimashu (黑麻糬), meaning "black sticky rice."
The name was selected from a flood of suggestions put forward by Taipei residents between Nov. 10 and Nov. 24. Heimashu got the largest number of votes -- nearly 10,000 -- in an online survey.
"Like the name Heimashu suggests, we hope the baby penguin will grow up to be healthy with a thick coat of black feathers," said Taipei City Zoo Director Yang Sheng-hsiung (楊勝雄).
Yang said that the baby penguin is still covered with greyish down and will not develop a thick, soft coat of black feathers until it reaches 10 months.
"Heimashu has been doing very well," Yang said. "It has grown from 200g when it was first born to 7kg."
Taipei City Zoo has 15 king penguins but Heimashu is the first penguin born domestically.
To celebrate the naming of the baby penguin, the zoo organized the Oceanic Ecology Conservation Fun Fair to try to promote a greater understanding of penguins and other oceanic creatures among the public.
The fair yesterday attracted more than 35,000 visitors, who were entertained with dances, skits, game booths, quiz shows and puppets dressed as penguins, clown fish, giant lobsters and mermaids among other attractions.
"Through these interesting games, the participants -- both young and old -- get an opportunity to learn more about penguins and other creatures of the sea," Yang said.
The Taipei City Zoo yesterday also bestowed a title on the king penguin.
"We have decided to give the title of Ambassador of Oceanic Conservation to the king penguin," Yang said.
"As a result, we hope the public will become more aware of the ecology of the ocean and the conservation work being undertaken.
"Ecology has becoming a pressing issue due to the over-exploitation and pollution of the world's oceans," Yang said.
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