Magellanic penguins welcome adorable new baby chicks at Blackpool zoo

Blackpool Zoo in East Park Drive announced the addition of new Magellanic penguin chicks earlier this month.

A spokesman for the zoo said: “The baby boom continues.

“Breeding season has arrived, and we're excited to share that several pairs of our Magellanic penguins have welcomed some adorable, fluffy chicks!

“The chicks are currently hidden away safely in their nest boxes with mum and dad, so it's not guaranteed that you will see them during your visit.”

Always great favourites with the visitors, the penguins at Blackpool Zoo are Magellanic by species and currently, the only ones of their type in the UK.

They originate from South America, specifically Chile, Argentina and the Falkland Isles where they inhabit coastal areas and steep, rocky banks.

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Penguins can live for up to 25 years, but Magellanics are now classed as near threatened as tens of thousands are lost annually to oil pollution.

Climate change has also severely depleted the fish stocks which they rely on for food. At the zoo, they are fed on sprats.

Magellanic penguins nest in burrows unlike the surface-dwelling species which huddle together to form protective colonies.

Male and female Magellanic penguins take it in turns to incubate the eggs over a period of 40 days or until they hatch.

Each parent leaves the nest for a matter of two or three weeks in order to go out to sea to find food. Two eggs are generally laid, although only one chick may survive

New baby orangutan born in April

A baby orangutan was born at Blackpool Zoo in April.

There has been a lot of interest in the birth as Bornean orangutans are classed as critically endangered.

Blackpool Zoo says that both mother and baby, who is yet to be named, are doing really well and living happily alongside another first-time mum, Jingga, and her son Jarang.

The father of both youngsters is Kawan, who came to Blackpool Zoo in 2022, from Apenheul Zoo in the Netherlands as part of the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP).

Darren Webster, Zoo Director at Blackpool Zoo, said: “After more than 20 years of waiting we are delighted to have had two beautiful Bornean orangutans born in Blackpool in the past 12 months.

“Kawan’s arrival marked a new start after our previous male, Ramon, moved to a group in Germany that was more suited to him for breeding.

“Ramon settled in well in his new family and has now become a father himself, so we are delighted that the move was a huge success for both collections.”