The Shedd Aquarium's newest penguin finally has a name -- Ruggles.
The name of the 10-month-old female rockhopper penguin was announced Tuesday at a name reveal party at the aquarium. After Ruggles' gender was revealed last month through DNA testing, members of the Shedd voted on the penguin's name.
Ruggles is named after Ruggles Bay or Ruggles Island, which is located near the Falkland Islands off the coast of southern Argentina.
The other potential names included Gypsy, Lennox, Dawson and Marta. All of the names, including Ruggles, are references to the natural geographic habitat of rockhopper penguins. Ruggles' parents are named after the Drake Passage and Magdalena Island.
The Shedd houses two different kinds of penguins -- the rockhopper and the Magellanic. Rockhopper penguins are the smaller breed, but they are also more eccentric. In addition to their small stature, they are known for their glowing red eyes, the yellow plumes that sprout from their eyebrows and their unique tendency to jump into the water feet first.
Ruggles was hatched on June 12, 2013, and remains the Shedd's youngest penguin. A new breeding season is just beginning, so time will tell if Ruggles will be joined by another youngster this year.
The rockhopper penguin is listed as a "vulnerable" species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature due to disease and warming ocean temperatures.
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The Shedd began participating in its penguin breeding and rescue program in 1991.
