Penguin chick arrival after Easter hatching

The chick snuggles with its mum, Twinnie

Zookeepers at Sewerby Hall are celebrating the arrival of a new penguin chick.

The eight-week old chick was born on Easter Monday, but it is still too early to tell whether they are male or female.

The chick is the third grandchild of Rosie the Humboldt penguin, who was one of the oldest of her species in the world when she died in 2023.

Head zookeeper John Pickering said it would be a few weeks until the new arrival was ready to leave its nest and asked visitors keen to catch a glimpse to be patient and keep their distance.

Proud dad Sigsbee watches over his new arrival

Mr Pickering added that parents Twinnie and Sigsbee were "both doing a wonderful job rearing the chick by themselves" and that the chick was doing "fantastically well".

The new arrival shares a birthday with their older sister Crackle, and also has a third sister called Pickle.

The chick will be given a name once its sex has been confirmed, but members of the public are being asked to submit their ideas via social media.

Mr Pickering added that chicks are reared on the nest for between 70-90 days until they have lost their baby feathers, grown their juvenile plumage, and are "big enough to explore the big wide world".

Vulnerable to extinction

The penguin chick's arrival has been especially welcomed by Sewerby's zookeepers as Humboldt penguins are classed as vulnerable to extinction.

There are around 32,000 mature Humboldt penguins in the wild and most live in Peru or Chile in South America.

The new chick’s grandmother Rosie was one of the world’s oldest Humboldt penguins and a long time resident of Sewerby Hall, near Bridlington.

She died in March last year, just a few weeks short of her 33rd birthday, with her death making headlines as far away as the USA.

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