WEYMOUTH: Last chance to see baby penguins

They are due to be relocated to Gweek Sea Life Centre to find mating partners at the end of March.

Displays supervisor Fiona Smith said: “All of our mature penguins have already paired off and we don’t want to let the younger ones interbreed with each other.

“It is not good for their gene pool, so now they are old enough to leave their parents we are moving them on, so they can be paired off at Gweek Sea Life Centre to help with their breeding program.”

Oak and Ash, the two males aged eight months and Olive and Elm, the two one-year-old females are Humboldt Penguins, a breed from South America which is on  endangered species list. Their current population in the wild is estimated to be as little as 3,000-12,000.

Fiona said: “Their low numbers are unfortunately due to over-fishing and the destruction of their preferred nesting ground, guano, which has been over-exploited over the years.

“So breeding programs such as ours have been set up to help sustain the number of these quirky creatures.

“Ours has been particularly successful in the past year as we saw the birth of four baby chicks in 2009, which is the most success we’ve ever had at one time. We have already seen four eggs laid this year.

“The penguins’ high birth rate is excellent as it signals that they are happy and settled in their environment. If they were not happy they would not breed.”

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