Sydney’s Taronga Zoo celebrated the hatching of seven baby penguins by naming them after arguably the most iconic Aussies of the year; Matildas players. Prepare for a cuteness overload folks.
The seven Little penguins (both an adjective and the species name) were born in Taronga’s breeding program as part of the zoo’s colony of almost fifty penguins, and were named after several Matildas stars to celebrate the team’s amazing achievements this year.
In a post that was shared to the Australian national women’s squad’s social media pages, Taronga announced that the adorable penguin chicks were named Arnold, Carpenter, Chidiac, Foord, Fowler, Kennedy, and Kerr.
The namesakes of these chicks being Mackenzie Arnold, Ellie Carpenter, Alex Chidiac, Caitlin Foord, Mary Fowler, Alanna Kennedy, and team skipper Sam Kerr.
And honestly, who else would you name them after? This year has been the Matildas’ year, and this feels like such a wholesome way to cap off 2023 for the iconic squad.
Taronga Zoo’s penguin breeding program have also confirmed that they are expecting another set of eggs to hatch in the next month which the zoo plans on naming after the rest of the Tillies’ team.
Midfielder Alex Chidiac visited the zoo to meet the precious new penguins, including the newborn named in her honour.
Chidiac (human) said the news that she was going to have one of the cute critters named after her was a “dream come true” as a lover of penguins herself.
“It was like I was picked for the World Cup all over again,” she said.
“Being a footballer is cool but having a penguin named after you is next level.”
MOOD. Literally living the dream. Massive slay Chids.
Chidiac (penguin) was unavailable for comment, but seemed thrilled at the whole event.
Previously Taronga Zoo also named another animal after the beloved team, welcoming Tilly the platypus this week.
