Ten rare Humboldt penguin chicks given starry names at zoo

These tiny penguins have names that are out of this world!

Ten rare Humboldt penguin chicks have hatched at Chester Zoo in the UK.

The tiny penguins have been named after constellations and other space-themed wonders.

"Ten chicks hatching in one season marks a bumper year for the penguins here." said Zoe Sweetman, Team Manager of Penguins at Chester Zoo.

"It's fantastic news for the species and a brilliant success for the international conservation breeding programme." she said.

Humboldt penguins are native to the rocky coastal shores of Peru and Chile, and are listed as vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The penguins face a number of threats in the wild, including climate change, over-fishing and rising ocean temperatures.

Zoo keepers make sure the penguin parents get lots of food to help feed the chicks

The chicks began hatching from their eggs in April, and have spent their first few weeks tucked away in their nest burrows with their parents as they grow bigger.

One of the chicks was raised by two male penguins named Scampi and Flounder.

The keepers say the couple stepped in to help take care of an extra egg laid by two other penguins called Wotsit and Peach.

Scampi and Flounder are already parenting pros, having successfully raised another chick last year named Verbana.

The chicks are regularly weighed and measured by the keepers

"Each year we pick a fun theme to help name our chicks, which helps us keep track of who is who now that there are 63 penguins in the colony," said Zoe.

"This year we've gone with a celestial theme for naming the chicks and we've had a lot of fun coming up with names inspired by stars, constellations and cosmic wonders."

This year's chicks are named Ursa, Alcyone, Quasar, Orion, Dorado, Cassiopeia, Altair and Xena.

The two final chicks will be named by the public in a special vote.

Previous themes have included chocolate bars, brands of crisps and even NHS heroes during the Covid-19 pandemic.