Here’s Sewerby Zoo’s new arrival – a Humboldt penguin chick

There is jubilation at the zoo at Sewerby Hall and Gardens following the announcement of the birth of a Humboldt penguin – the first chick born there for 11 years.

The chick – whose gender and name are still to be determined – was born after the new male arrival at the zoo, Sigsby (6) got together with Twinny (19).

The pair initially proved to be good parents, taking it in turns to sit on the egg. But as time went on, the keepers noticed that Sigsby wasn’t taking his turns, and leaving Twinny to do all the sitting. Eventually, this became too much for Twinny, and the egg was left on its own.

At that point, head zookeeper John Pickering took the egg home and placed it in an incubator. He has hand-reared the chick, with feeds of a blend of fish and saltwater four times a day, with the last daily feed sometimes at midnight.

He said: “This whole process has been a bit of a miracle. I am so glad we had the foresight to put the egg in the incubator. It was a challenge right from the start to help the chick, but I wasn’t going to give up!”

Go to https://youtu.be/MjiIbq6fctM to see a video of John Pickering talking about the new penguin