Record number of Humboldt penguin eggs laid at Manx wildlife park

A total of 19 eggs have been laid at the island's wildlife park this year

Nineteen Humboldt penguin eggs have been laid at a zoo on the Isle of Man.

It marks a record for the Curraghs Wildlife Park, in Ballaugh, which is part of a European breeding programme to protect the endangered birds.

Park general manager Kathleen Graham said while not all the eggs would be fertile, it was hoped up to 16 could hatch.

The park's previous record was set in 2020, when all 10 of the eggs laid that year hatched.

The species, which is native to South America, is under threat from over-fishing, warming seas and on-land mineral exploration in nesting areas.

Seven of this year's chicks have already hatched and are being cared for in specially designed nesting boxes in the penguin enclosure.

Ms Graham said park staff would "keep fingers crossed" that most of them will survive to adulthood, which would enable them to "provide some other collections with some young penguins".

"They definitely need our help, both in keeping a captive safe population but also in helping raise awareness to what's happening to penguins out there in South America," she said.

Kathleen Graham said she loves seeing the chicks grow to adulthood each year

The breeding programme saw penguins at the park pair up "year after year", however it was "not always opposite sex couples" that incubated the eggs and nurtured the chicks, Ms Graham said.

She said there were a number of successful parenting pairs among the park's 23 adult penguins, including "one couple that are two boys and they're actually one of our best parents".

"We always give them a second egg from one of our other couples or a chick... this will be their fourth year being two dads," she added.

There was "nothing better" for the keepers to see than the chicks reaching adulthood, she said, adding: "You never lose your enthusiasm for that."