Nine Adorable Penguin Chicks Hatch At Chester Zoo

Nine adorable penguin chicks have hatched at Chester Zoo and keepers have named them after their favourite fruits. The first of the Humboldt penguins to emerge from its egg, Plum, has since been joined by eight others including Peach, Papaya, Cherry, Rhubarb, Banana, Lemon, Satsuma and Iona-Berry. Hatching at a weight of just 80g, penguin chicks triple in size in their first three weeks of life and quickly reach around 3kg, just like their parents. After spending their early weeks of life tucked away in their nests being cared for and fed by their attentive parents the tiny youngsters have now begun swimming lessons. Sophie Bissaker, Parrots and Penguins Keeper at the zoo, said: “There’s nothing quite like hearing tiny chirps coming from the penguin nests and seeing little balls of fluff snuggled up with their parents just moments after hatching.” Zookeepers at the zoo have a trend of naming the penguins using a different theme each year. In previous years chicks have been named after brands of crisps, chocolate bars and in 2020, the UK's NHS Heroes. Of the world’s 18 penguin species, Humboldt penguins are one of the most at risk of extinction. They are listed as vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as they are becoming less common in places where they were once found in abundance.