New wing man! Adorable baby puffin now starring at Central Park Zoo

Flock yeah!

An adorable rare baby puffin can now be seen frolicking at the Central Park Zoo — delighting animal lovers who gushed Friday over its heart-melting “chick floof.”

The nearly 4-month-old male seabird joined the zoo’s “Polar Zone” exhibit alongside 11 adult Atlantic puffins, as well as seals and penguins, after finally growing big enough to swoop into the group, officials said.

“With black-and-white feathers and a large, multicolored bill, as adults, the Atlantic puffin is often called the clown of the sea,” the zoo said in a press release Friday. “As a hatchling, pufflings have very puffy brown-and-white downy feathers.”


A nearly 4-month old baby puffin is on display at the Central Park Zoo. ©WCS

Born Aug. 11 at just 2 ounces, the frisky fluffball is now more than 11 ounces — about the size of an adult puffin, officials said.

Bird buffs chirped with glee over the exhibit’s new feathered friend.

“There is nothing like chick floof, and the sweetness of adolescent plumage. Beautiful job, CPZ Keepers,” an Instagram user wrote under a photo of the puffling posted by the zoo.

Another observer swooned, ”Wow fabulous!”


puffin
The fledgling bird joins 11 adult Atlantic puffins in a colony at the zoo. James Messerschmidt

The Atlantic puffin, which feeds on small fish such as herring and hake, is listed as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The birds can grow nearly a foot long and live an average of 25 years.

The puffling at the Central Park Zoo is one of only three that have hatched this year at seven Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the zoo said.

The playful puffling hasn’t been given a name yet, a rep told The Post.

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