Penguin chicks hatch at Longleat for the first time

The three Humboldt penguin chicks are the first to hatch at Longleat

Penguin chicks have hatched at Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire for the first time.

The three Humboldt penguin chicks are said to be doing well and keepers are confident more are due to start hatching out over the coming weeks.

Originally from South America, the breed is normally found around coastal areas of Peru and Chile.

Longleat is home to a colony of captive-bred Humboldts who live on its Penguin Island.

The breed gets its name from the cold water current it swims in, which was discovered by the explorer Alexander von Humboldt

Keeper Lucy Jacobmeyer said: "Although they are all first-time parents, the adults are doing incredibly well. Parents Paula and Nick are looking after two chicks and Eusebir and Princess have one chick.

"Apart from taking them out to check their weight we have very much left them to get on with things and they are coping brilliantly."

Humboldt penguins are now officially listed as 'vulnerable' by the International Union for Conservation of Nature which means they are at immediate or imminent risk of becoming endangered.

In the wild, Humboldt penguins are under threat from climate change, overfishing and the acidification of the oceans