Central Park Zoo Welcomes Baby King Penguin

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Make way for baby! The Central Park Zoo is welcoming the arrival a king penguin chick.

The chick hatched last August and is now making its public debut at the zoo in much more appropriate weather.

The chick is the first king penguin to hatch at the zoo.

"It's a big deal," animal curator Sue Cardillo told 1010 WINS. "We have a small colony of king penguins and we only have one female and we're really happy to see that she has successfully bred with one of the males that we have on exhibit."

The chick's parents are 4 years old and this is their first chick.

"They've done a wonderful job raising it so far," Cardillo said.

After taking a few months away from the exhibit to grow and develop, the chick and its parents are back on display at the zoo.

Visitors will now be able to watch the chick transform and grow up.

"The chick has very fluffy, brown, downy feathers right now," Cardillo said. "The chick looks very different from any other penguin that's on exhibit."

After a few months, the chick will molt its brown feathers and develop black, white, and yellow adult plumage.

The sex of the new chick has yet to be determined.