Birdland Park and Gardens in Gloucestershire is celebrating the hatching of the UK’s first king penguin chick since 2014.
The king penguin chicks weighed 188 grams (6.6 ounces) at hatching and are being hand-reared by specialist zookeepers. Their eggs were moved to incubators for safety before the chicks hatched at the Gloucestershire wildlife park.
The chicks are the offspring of king penguins French and Frank. According to zoo officials, the young birds have already faced several challenges, including unusually high temperatures.
Alistair Keene, head of the biological collection at Birdland Park and Gardens, said: “While everyone is talking about ways to stay cool this summer, we’ve spent the last few weeks focusing on one very important little penguin.
“We have a long way to go and we won’t take anything for granted, but we’re happy with the progress we’ve made so far.”
Source: www.bbc.co.uk