New, female penguin chick has been born at Sewerby Zoo
Sewerby Hall and Gardens has announced the arrival of a healthy, female Humboldt penguin chick.
Popular resident penguins Sigsbee and Twinnie are once again proud parents, making for yet another adorable addition to Sewerby Hall and Garden’s Zoo.
The zoo team were unsure whether Twinnie would lay an egg this year as she is now 23 years of age, however staff were overjoyed to find that she had laid an egg on Tuesday, 4 March.
Both parents have taken it in turns sitting on the egg and the team were pleased to discover that the chick had hatched on Tuesday, April 15.
Sigsbee and Twinnie have once again proven to be great parents, feeding and caring for the chick.
The chick left the nest on Saturday, June 21 to explore her surroundings for the first time and have a swim in the pool.
The public are being given the exciting opportunity to choose the name of the new chick from a selection put forward by the zoo team. The options are:
Winnie: In honour of her remarkable Mum 'Twinnie' who has done a fantastic job of rearing the next generation of the penguin colony for the past four years at Sewerby and continues to amaze the team at the grand age of 23. Without her none of this would be possible.
Pebble: The new chick is the smallest penguin in the colony in contrast to her big brother Bumble who is by far the biggest. Pebble is tiny and grey like a pebble. It also fits in with the names of older big siblings Pickle, Crackle and Bumble.
Head zookeeper John Pickering said: “We are pleased to say that the chick is doing great and loves swimming with her siblings Pickle, Crackle and Bumble.
“Our penguins are extremely popular with visitors and we are certain that our new penguin will add even more personality to our ever-growing penguin family here at the zoo.’’
The last chick born at the zoo was Bumble in the Spring of 2024. Bumble, along with all his siblings, is happy and healthy and continuing to thrive within the zoo.