Penguin chicks hatch at Chester Zoo

Five fluffy penguin chicks have hatched at Chester Zoo and zookeepers have named them after NHS Heroes and hospitals.

The first of the tiny new arrivals - highly threatened Humboldt penguins - arrived on 26 March, closely followed by several others, the last of which emerged from its egg on 14 April.

To help them keep track of the new chicks, conservationists at the zoo select a different naming theme for the youngsters each year. Previous years’ topics have included brands of crisps, chocolate bars and British Olympic athletes.

This year, keepers have recognised the amazing work of the UK’s NHS Heroes and have decided to pay homage to NHS Heroes and the hospitals where they work. The five chicks have been named Florence (after Florence Nightingale), Thomas (after St Thomas’ Hospital), Bevan (after Aneurin Bevan who founded the NHS), Arrowe (after Arrowe Park Hospital) and finally Countess (named after the zoo’s local hospital – the Countess of Chester Hospital).

The new chicks will spend the first eight weeks of life tucked away in their nests, with both mum and dad sharing parenting duties and caring for them.

Anne Morris, Lead Penguin Keeper at Chester Zoo, said:

“The arrival of Humboldt penguin chicks always signals the start of spring and, although it’s still early days, the chicks look really healthy and the parents are doing a fab job of caring for their new arrivals.

“To help with raising the new youngsters, we’re providing the parents some extra fish, which they swallow, churn into a high-protein soup and then regurgitate to feed the chicks. We also weigh the chicks regularly so that we can monitor their development, as they can more than triple in size and weight in the first three weeks!

“Each year the team chooses a new naming theme for the chicks and, given everything that is happening around us, we decided to name this year’s class after NHS hospitals in acknowledgment of our wonderful NHS Heroes – just as a thank you from everyone here at the zoo.”

Humboldt penguins are becoming increasingly rare. Of the world’s 17 penguin species, they are now among the most at risk. They are listed as vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Found on the rocky coastal shores of Peru and Chile, the penguins face a number of threats such as climate change, over-fishing of their natural food sources and rising acidity and temperature levels in the oceans – all causing the penguins to search further from their nests for fish and increasing their vulnerability.

Humboldt penguin facts

• Scientific name: Spheniscus humboldti
• This South American penguin is named after the chilly Humboldt current, along which the penguins commonly swim
• Of the world’s 17 penguin species, Humboldts are among the most at risk, with the species classed as vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
• In the wild, Humboldt penguins are vulnerable to disturbances in their food chain caused by strong El Nino currents
• Humboldt penguins are social animals, living in relatively large colonies of closely spaced burrows
• Humboldt penguins ‘fly’ through the water at speeds of up to 25mph
• They enjoy a diet of small fish (anchovies, herring, smelt) and crustaceans

Chester Zoo

Chester Zoo (www.chesterzoo.org) is a registered conservation and education charity. Home to 35,000 animals and more than 500 different species, many of which are endangered in the wild, the zoo also supports field projects around the world and closer to home, preventing the extinction of highly threatened species. Welcoming more than two million visitors a year, it is the UK’s most visited zoo and England’s most visited tourist attraction outside London.