Four fuzzy Penguin chicks named Wotsit, Quaver, Frazzle, and Cheeto have become the first of their kind to hatch at the Chester Zoo this year.

The tiny Humboldt Penguin chicks, which hatched between March 27 and April 5 to four different sets of parents, were named after their keepers’ favorite snacks.

Photo Credit:  Chester Zoo
 
Staff at the zoo use a different naming theme each year to help them to keep track of the new chicks, with popular potato snacks getting the nod this year. Previous topics have included British Olympic athletes and chocolate bars.  

Both Penguin parents help rear their young, including regurgitating fish for the chicks to eat. To keep the adults and babies well-nourished, the adults get extra servings of fish each day.  Keepers weigh the little chicks daily to make sure they are gaining weight.

So far, the chicks are thriving – keepers expect them to triple in size and weight in the first month. 

Humboldt Penguins live on the coasts of Peru and Chile, and are listed as Vulnerable to Extinction on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.  Of the world’s 17 Penguin species, they are now among the most at risk.  Humboldt Penguins are threatened by climate change, rising acidity levels in the ocean and over-fishing – all of which force them to search further from their nests for fish.

See more photos of the chicks below.

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