December 13, 2017, 05:50 PM 
Maru is Jurong Bird Park's newest kid on the block. It's the park's first King Penguin chick in over a decade, and boy, is Maru adorable.
The two-month-old chick, whose name means "round" or "circle" in Japanese, is the first successful King Penguin hatched since 2008.
Hatched in October
Keepers retrieved the egg from penguin parents Zoro and Sora earlier in August this year. To maximise its chances of survival, a decision was made to incubate it at their in-house Breeding and Research Centre.
And thus, Maru was born Oct. 10, weighing in at just 200g.
Photo courtesy of Wildlife Reserves Singapore
Sleepy baby. Photo courtesy of Wildlife Reserves Singapore
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The chick grew well under its keepers' care.
Maru now enjoys a thrice-daily diet of herring fillets and capelin.
Given that the chick weighs 6kg now and looks like the fluffiest little brown ball of joy, Maru was given its name.
1-month old Maru. Photo courtesy of Wildlife Reserves Singapore
Maru had just been introduced to the rest of his kind, as seen in the clip below, which is insanely adorable.
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Settling in
And all that's well ends well, as his flock has seemingly accepted him, crowding around his enclosure to have a look at Maru:
The public may now see Maru with the other 17 King Penguins at Jurong Bird Park’s Penguin Coast exhibit, along with the African, Humboldt, Rockhopper and Macaroni Penguin species.
Do note that after around nine months, Maru will moult down into its adult plumage, meaning it'll look more like his King Penguin counterparts.
We'll sure he'd be well settled in by then. Grow well, Maru!
Top image adapted via Wildlife Reserves Singapore
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