CHESTER Zoo’s latest arrival is out of this world – and has a name to match.
Weighing just 66g, the baby chick Doctor is one of the first Humboldt penguins to hatch at the zoo this year.
Given that the baby was already doing well the only real poser for keepers was what to call their new charge – and the other nine due to hatch after him.
Last year’s clutch got their names from British Olympic stars – this year they are named after icons from the hit TV show Doctor Who, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.
Doctor has already been joined by Tardis, Davros and Dalek.
Keeper Karen Neech said: “Just as Doctor Who has his companion we’re very much the companions for the baby chicks at the moment – we’re weighing them daily to make sure they’re developing properly and feeding from their parents.
“With extra mouths to feed a lot more food is required, so it’s a busy time for both us and the adult penguins.
“We provide the parents with fish and they then turn it into a high-protein soup, which they then regurgitate to feed to the chicks. So it’s a real combined effort – but without a sonic screwdriver in sight!”
The penguins are an endangered South American species, which come from the coastal areas of Peru and Chile. The new arrivals mean the zoo now has a colony of more than 40.
Each pair lays two eggs and will incubate them for 40 days up to hatching. Both parents are then involved in incubating and rearing the young.
After about eight weeks they will leave the nest and learn how to swim in the zoo’s ‘baby pool’, before joining their parents in the main pool.
Chester Zoo funds conservation initiatives in the penguins’ homeland to help them in their natural habitat, where they are faced with many pressures including over fishing of their food and habitat loss.
