The Zoo’s 1000th African penguin chick has been named!

— Hello Millie! —

BALTIMORE, MD – Thanks to 1000s upon 1000s of penguin fans, The Maryland Zoo’s 1000^th chick has been officially named “Millie!”

The names in the contest were selected by the Penguin Coast animal care team members. While this year the theme for penguin chick names was “trees,” the team thought that Chick 1000 could have a special name chosen by her fans. Millie, short for a millennium or 1000 years, was the clear choice.

By the time voting closed at 8:00 am on Friday morning, Millie had run away with 49% of the vote, with over 5,100 votes cast. The name Mango, adhering to the tree theme, was the runner-up with 28% of the votes cast. Click here to see video of the official name reveal with the Penguin Coast animal care team.

Millie is still living behind the scenes at Penguin Coast. She will be joining the full colony, along with other chicks from the 2017-2018 breeding season, when they have molted into their juvenile plumage and have passed their swimming lessons. We encourage guests to check our website, www.marylandzoo.org and Facebook page (www.facebook.com/marylandzoo) for updates.