One by one, eight penguin chicks broke through shells in the nest rooms at the Maryland Zoo. It took a day for some, two for others, to fully hatch, said Jennie Burleyson, the area manager for Penguin Coast at the Maryland Zoo, one of the world’s largest colonies of African penguins.

Every breeding season, which is roughly September through January, penguin keepers vote on a theme for the chicks’ names. This year’s clutch — the name for a group of penguin chicks — will be named after fruits and vegetables.

On Tuesday, the Maryland Zoo revealed the names of two of the new penguin chicks: Cayenne and Kiwi. Cayenne’s keeper wanted to name a penguin after a pepper. Burleyson doesn’t know the story behind Kiwi, but thinks it’s fitting. Penguin chicks are fluffy and fuzzy, much like the fruit.

The other six penguins are still unnamed as keepers wait for them to show their personalities. The zoo said their names will be revealed in the coming weeks.

The Maryland Zoo is home to the largest colony of African penguins in North America, with more than 1,000 chicks hatched there over five decades. Many of them, including six of the eight new penguin chicks, are descendants of Mr. Greedy, who died last year at age 33.

Native to South Africa and Namibia, most of the zoo’s penguins stay in Baltimore, according to a news release, but some establish new roots at zoos and aquariums across the U.S. and Canada. African penguins are a protected species, but their numbers in the wild have declined dramatically. The species could go extinct in the wild within 10 years, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

The zoo’s breeding program matches penguins based on their genes and the needs of the colony’s population. The penguins could repopulate wild colonies as issues like overfishing and habitat loss are addressed, according to the zoo. This means every chick hatched helps ensure the species’s survival, Burleyson said.

How many eggs hatch varies every year, Burleyson said. This clutch of eggs was laid in September, and incubation takes 36 to 42 days.

Each penguin pair has their own nest box, where parents stay with a chick for its first three weeks. Chicks also spend time together, Burleyson said, with heaters set up in a room so they can stay warm and socialize, as they would do in the wild.

It may be a while before zoo visitors get to see the eight new penguins, Burleyson said, as temperatures need to warm up. They’ll likely be out on Penguin Coast in March.