Birdland Park & Gardens, Bourton-on-the-Water, is pleased to announce that its own Royal Baby is a girl! The King Penguin Chick, born in September, is finally old enough to be sexed and the team at Birdland are thrilled to have another female in their colony.

The chick is the first female King Penguin to be born at the Park and the first King Penguin chick to hatch in over 7 years. Her brother Spike was also hand-reared by Head Keeper Alistair Keen and both chicks regard him as their surrogate Dad.

Royal penguin babies are very rare with Birdland having the only breeding colony of King Penguins in the UK making this little chick very special.

Head Keeper Alistair Keen says: “I am really pleased that she is a girl. Other than a healthy chick, that is exactly what we wanted. The King Penguin colony is quite top heavy on males so another female is great for the future of the group.

He continues: “We have four possible names for her, and are going to ask our Birdland Facebook followers to vote for their favourite.”

Like the rest of the nation who have been waiting for a Royal Baby, Keepers also played the waiting game! In order to sex the penguin chick Keepers had to wait until she was about 7 months. During a routine vet visit they sent feathers off for DNA analysis to confirm the sex, and the results took about two weeks to return.

The penguin chick is still brown and fluffy so the Birdland team are keeping a close eye on her, watching for signs of adult feathers. The next major milestone in her life will be her first swim!

Visitors can meet the King Penguin Chick as well as her extended family of King Penguins and Humboldts at Penguin Shore, Birdland. Learn more about penguins during the twice-daily penguin feeds and talks hosted by Birdland's expert Keepers at 11am and 2.30pm.

ENDS

Birdland is open daily from 10am

Find us at: Birdland, Rissington Road, Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, GL54 2BN

Contact: Tel: 01451 820480  Email: info@birdland.co.uk

Admission:  £8.95 Adults / £5.95 Child (3-15) / Senior £7.95 / Family £28.00 (2+2)

• 11am Penguin Mini-Feed
• 11.30am Flamingo Feed
• 12.15 Meet the Keeper
• 2.30pm Penguin Feed
• 3.15pm Pelican Feed

Special Experiences to Book:

• Feed the Penguins is £45 and children must be 10yrs and over. Booking is necessary.
• Become a Keeper is £85, lasting 7hrs and children must be 14yrs or over. Booking is necessary.

For more information call:

•         Alistair Keen, Head Keeper on 07772 971287 or 01451 820480

•         Simon Blackwell, Manager on 01451 820480 / 07850 929 828

For more: www.birdland.co.uk 

Editors Notes:

• Birdland opened in 1957 and was one of the first bird encounters to open in the UK.
• Birdland Park is a 9.5-acre site situated on and around the River Windrush in Bourton-on-the-Water.  7 acres are dedicated to the Bird Gardens featuring over 500 birds, 140 species in 50 aviaries.  The 2.5-acre Nature Reserve is home to many indigenous species from kingfishers to otters.
• Birdland has the only breeding group of King Penguins in the country.  Spike the King Penguin, who was hand-reared, is a popular resident with his own Facebook and Twitter following.
• There are a number of rare species at Birdland and the team are actively involved with global breeding programmes.