MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — The Minnesota Zoo’s first endangered African penguin chick has hatched.

The zoo welcomed the new chick on March 2 after being incubated by foster parents. While its gender is not yet known, zoo officials say it’s doing very well and has grown from 2.4 ounces to more than one pound, six ounces.

In the process of hatching, the chick’s biological parents weren’t incubating the egg consistently, zoo officials said, so the decision was made to move the chick to an experienced pair of foster parents.

The hatching of this first chick is a significant achievement for the zoo, which opened the 3M Penguins of the African Coast exhibit in 2011.

African penguins live and nest on the southwest coast of Africa and will grow to be approximately 26-28 inches tall and weigh between 6-9 pounds.

In the wild, their life expectancy is between 10-15 years while in the care of humans, they can live up to 30 years.