Like many moms of newborns, Caitlin Hume still has plenty of work to do when she gets home. There's the herring-and-krill formula to prepare, followed by a little peeping and playtime, then bed.For the past few weeks, Hume and fellow New England Aquarium biologist Heather Urquhart have been mothering a 22-ounce Little Blue Penguin that was rejected by its parents after a difficult hatching.
Each night, the two surrogate moms delicately pack the baby — covered in soft, gray-blue down — into a plastic cooler. Inside, the bird rests comfortably, swaddled in a white towel for the car ride home, oblivious to Boston's rush-hour traffic.
Once home, the still-unnamed chick — which turns 37 days old on Tuesday — waits in the guest room until Hume prepares a baby formula of herring fillet and shrimp-like krill that goes into a blender and is heated to about 98 degrees. The pungent meal, resembling a chocolate shake, is fed to the penguin four times a day using a syringe with a special tip.
Read More
