Zookeepers at ZSL London Zoo swoop in and hand-rear five adorable penguin chicks

And finally...some fluffy penguin chicks

Zookeepers at ZSL London Zoo swoop in and hand-rear five adorable penguin chicks - ZSL London Zoo

Zookeepers at ZSL London Zoo have their hands full in the penguin nursery this month – feeding and caring for five hungry Humboldt penguin chicks, after their parents were unable to look after them.
The fluffy - who all hatched at the conservation zoo between Saturday 14 and Sunday 24 April - have spent four weeks cosying up to a cuddly toy penguin under the warming glow of a heat lamp, with dedicated keepers looking after them in shifts.
ZSL London Zoo penguin keeper Suzi Hyde said: “During breeding season, we check the nests on Penguin Beach every day, keeping an eye out for any chicks who might not be feeding enough or whose parents are struggling to care for their brood. These five chicks all had first-time parents who needed a little bit of extra support, so we were happy to swoop in – with a little help from a few soft toy penguins, donated by the Zoo shop, for them to snuggle up to.”

Covered in soft grey feathers, the tiny flightless birds are weighed every morning and hand-fed three times a day with a special diet of blended fish, vitamins and minerals – referred to by ZSL London Zoo’s keepers as a ‘penguin milkshake’; as they grow bigger, they’ll also be weaned onto small portions of fresh fish to support their development.
The as yet unsexed chicks are expected to stay in the nursery until they each reach 10-weeks-old, by which time they should have grown from 73g at hatch, to around 3kg in weight.
They'll then move into the Zoo’s nursery pool, which has shallow water for swimming lessons, before eventually being introduced to the 62 other penguins and their 1500sqm Penguin Beach pool – the largest in the UK.