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Happy feat: Maryland Zoo’s 1,000th penguin chick gets a name (Photos)

Will Vitka | will.vitka@wtop.com

April 13, 2018, 3:22 PM

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WASHINGTON — Only one participant was in a tuxedo for this event.

Penguin fans have spoken, and after thousands of votes, The Maryland Zoo’s 1,000th penguin chick was named Friday.

Say hello to Millie.

Millie, The Maryland Zoo's 1,000th penguin chick, was named Friday. (Courtesy The Maryland Zoo)
Millie, The Maryland Zoo’s 1,000th penguin chick, was named Friday. (Courtesy The Maryland Zoo)
Courtesy The Maryland Zoo
Even penguins need baths sometimes, and Millie is no exception. (Courtesy The Maryland Zoo)
Even penguins need baths sometimes, and Millie is no exception. (Courtesy The Maryland Zoo)
Courtesy The Maryland Zoo
Millie when she was a little younger. (Courtesy The Maryland Zoo)
Millie when she was a little younger. (Courtesy The Maryland Zoo)
Courtesy The Maryland Zoo
Penguin Coast Animal Care staffer Joe Hammond holds Millie when she was younger. (Courtesy The Maryland Zoo)
Penguin Coast Animal Care staffer Joe Hammond holds Millie when she was younger. (Courtesy The Maryland Zoo)
Courtesy The Maryland Zoo
Millie has spent most of her young life being adorable. (Courtesy The Maryland Zoo)
Millie has spent most of her young life being adorable. (Courtesy The Maryland Zoo)
Courtesy The Maryland Zoo
The Penguin Coast team at The Maryland Zoo spells out Millie's name on the back of their shirts. (Courtesy The Maryland Zoo)
The Penguin Coast team at The Maryland Zoo spells out Millie’s name on the back of their shirts. (Courtesy The Maryland Zoo)
Courtesy The Maryland Zoo
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Millie, The Maryland Zoo's 1,000th penguin chick, was named Friday. (Courtesy The Maryland Zoo)
Even penguins need baths sometimes, and Millie is no exception. (Courtesy The Maryland Zoo)
Millie when she was a little younger. (Courtesy The Maryland Zoo)
Penguin Coast Animal Care staffer Joe Hammond holds Millie when she was younger. (Courtesy The Maryland Zoo)
Millie has spent most of her young life being adorable. (Courtesy The Maryland Zoo)
The Penguin Coast team at The Maryland Zoo spells out Millie's name on the back of their shirts. (Courtesy The Maryland Zoo)

Millie is short for millennium, or 1,000 years.

Voting closed at 8 a.m. Friday, and after 5,100 votes, Millie had a commanding lead with 49 percent. The runner-up was Mango, with 28 percent.

“Trees” had been the theme, but the zoo’s Penguin Coast animal care team members let Millie be the exception, according to a news release.

Millie is currently living behind the scenes at the Penguin Coast attraction.

She, and other chicks from the 2017-2018 breeding season, will join the full colony when they have molted into their juvenile plumage — and when they’ve passed their swimming lessons.

At least there are no flying tests.

More information can be found at The Maryland Zoo’s website and Facebook page.

Will Vitka

William Vitka is a Digital Writer/Editor for WTOP.com. He's been in the news industry for over a decade. Before joining WTOP, he worked for CBS News, Stuff Magazine, The New York Post and wrote a variety of books—about a dozen of them, with more to come.

will.vitka@wtop.com

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