Chester: Same-sex penguin couple hatch rare chick at zoo
Bird experts at the zoo carefully shared the eggs between the two nests to help give both chicks the best possible start and to help improve the chances of successful fledging.The Humboldt is the most threatened of all 17 species of penguin.
Chester Zoo's penguin team manager, Zoe Sweetman, said: "It's fantastic news for the species and a brilliant success for the international conservation breeding programme."The fluffy new arrivals are all being looked after brilliantly by their parents, having nearly quadrupled in size since they first emerged."The zoo spokesperson said penguin couples shared feeding and parenting duties, and this was supplemented by extra fish provided by the keepers.The adult penguins swallow this, blending it into a protein-rich soup before regurgitating it to feed the chicks.
Eight of the chicks, who live in the zoo's Penguin Island habitat, have been named Ursa, Alcyone, Quasar, Orion, Dorado, Cassiopeia, Altair and Xena after constellations and celestial wonders. The other two are to be named in a public vote via social media.
Humboldt penguin facts
This South American penguin is named after the chilly Humboldt current, along which the penguins commonly swimHumboldt penguins are social animals, living in relatively large colonies of closely spaced burrowsHumboldt penguins travel through the water at speeds of up to 25mphThey enjoy a diet of small fish, such as anchovies, herring and smelt and crustaceansThey are classed as vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)In the wild, Humboldt penguins are vulnerable to disturbances in their food chain caused by strong El Niño currents, which happen when surface waters in the eastern and central tropical Pacific Ocean become unusually warm
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