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Meet endangered penguin chicks "Pumpkin" and "Spice"

Penguin chick under its parents wing Banham Zoo

Chicks Pumpkin and Spice are being well looked after

Banham Zoo has announced the exciting birth of two African Black-footed penguin chicks.

The chicks, named Pumpkin and Spice, were born on the 31 October and 3 November, but haven't been shown to the public.

African Black-footed penguin's are an endangered species with fewer than 20,000 left, meaning this birth is especially important.

The two new chicks are part of the zoo's breeding program to help ensure the future of the species.

African Black-footed penguin facts:

Penguin looking at the camera Banham Zoo

  • Penguins make very good parents - they usually keep the same mate for life and the mum and dad take turns incubating the eggs until they hatch.

  • In the wild penguins eat a lot of food! In-fact they eat 14 percent of their body weight every single day.

  • Penguins can shoot their poop up to 3 feet! By doing this they make sure their poop stays out of their nest so it is clean for their eggs and then chicks.

  • African penguins can swim REALLY fast. When hunting they have been seen swimming up to 12 miles an hour - that is more than twice as fast as olympic medalist Michael Phelps.

The family of penguins Banham Zoo

Parents Maneno and Jozini with their chicks

Pumpkin and Spice are said to be settling in to the zoo well, being looked after by their parents Maneno and Jozini.

They are now part of a colony of African black footed penguins at the Zoo.

Team leader of the bird team at Banham Zoo, Sophie Imhof said:

"We couldn't be happier to welcome Pumpkin and Spice, especially at such a magical time of year.

With African black-footed penguins under so much pressure in the wild, every new chick really does matter and these two are a lovely reminder of why conservation work like this is so important."