There were more coo-worthy moments than you could shake a stick at during tonight's episode of The Secret Life of the Zoo.
But an unusually fluffy four-piece 'boy-band' and, even more unlikely, a Komodo dragon battling a severe case of agoraphobia were the stand-out stars of the show.
Three-month-old penguin chicks Squares, Wotsit, Frazzle and Munch faced the daunting transition from the training pool to the adults' stomping ground, while fearful Mezcal couldn't have been more different to her fearsome Komodo comrades.
The third season of the documentary - which offers unparallelled out-of-hours peeks at what life is really like for Chester Zoo's 15,000 animals - is proving to be just as compelling as it is charming.
The debut instalment was an emotional affair as it featured the tragic death of Pedro the giant anteater.
In episode two, we were shown that the trials and tribulations of growing-up are by no means unique to humans and, in some cases, mastering the basics can mean the difference between life and death.
Viewers watched anxiously as Squares, Wotsit, Frazzle and Munch – who were compared to a boy-band by their zoo-keeper due to their penchant for standing in a certain formation – risked the wrath of the 'crabby' grown-ups when they were finally ready to graduate to the main pool.
There were a tense few moments but no doubt cheers when the chicks took the plunge and lived to tell the tale.
So shy and nervous was four-foot-long Mezcal, she once tried to hide in a keeper's pocket.
During her four years at Chester Zoo, she had never ventured outside, to the concern of staff.
But thanks to a tempting trail of blood and fish guts leading to a chicken carcass which was strategically placed outside her enclosure, hungry Mezcal surprised everyone by making it outside at last.
Honourable mentions go to cheeky but adorable baby gibbon Eko who had to learn the ropes quite literally, as well as the birth of Murchison to Rothschild giraffe and first-time mum Tula.
The next episode will air on Channel 4 at 8pm on Tuesday, March 14.
