Two Humboldt penguin chicks named after Wrexham AFC’s Hollywood owners have taken their first swimming classes at a zoo in Cheshire.
Penguin keepers at Chester Zoo, in Upton-by-Chester, named the three-month-old penguins after the owners of “one among their favorite” native soccer groups to be able to increase extra consciousness for the “iconic” birds.
The penguins, born in April, named Ryan, after Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds, and Rob in tribute to TV comedy actor Rob McElhenney can now showcase their species’ “wonderful” swimming and diving abilities after shedding their child feathers and leaving the nest.
Among the many 18 penguin species on Earth, the Humboldt penguin is “one of the threatened”.
Native to Chile and Peru, the penguins are labeled as “weak” by the Worldwide Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) pink checklist of threatened species as a consequence of overfishing, habitat destruction, air pollution and local weather change.
Humboldt penguins use their swimming and diving talents to hunt for fish, squid, and small crustaceans, Chester Zoo mentioned.
They’re thought of “medium-sized,” with a peak of 18 to 24 inches (46 to 61 centimetres) and weighing between eight and 14 kilos (3.6 to five.9 kilograms).
Zoe Sweetman, staff supervisor of penguins and parrots at Chester Zoo, mentioned: “After hatching out of their eggs just a few months in the past, these two kids have been carefully cared for by their mother and father whereas snuggled up of their nests.
“However now they’ve shed their fluffy gray feathers and developed their multi-layered waterproof feathers.
“Watching as they tentatively make a splash is an actual pleasure and inside minutes they did what comes naturally to them, and now they’re zooming via the waters at excessive pace.”
She added that beforehand the zoo has named different penguin chicks after manufacturers of “crisps and chocolate bars” to create “much-needed” consideration for the species.
“Every year our staff enjoys selecting a distinct naming theme for the chicks to assist garner some much-needed consideration for the species; we’ve beforehand had manufacturers of crisps, chocolate bars and forms of fruit,” she mentioned.
“This yr, as one among our penguin keepers is a big fan of the native soccer staff, Wrexham AFC, we determined to do one thing just a little totally different and identify the 2 new male arrivals after Wrexham’s Hollywood owners.
“They’re each so filled with persona and charisma – so it appeared reasonably becoming; their diving abilities are already spot-on.”
Ms Sweetman emphasises the significance of wildlife conservation at Chester Zoo and what it takes to guard the way forward for species just like the Humboldt penguin.
She mentioned: “We hope we will help unfold some much-needed consciousness concerning the significance of wildlife conservation and encourage extra folks to take small, every day steps in enjoying an lively function in defending the way forward for species just like the Humboldt penguin.
“Some quite simple issues we will all do are utilizing much less single-use plastics, consuming sustainably caught fish and lowering vitality use – even when it’s just a bit – that contributes to the warming of the seas.”
