First King Penguin Chick in UK for 12 Years Hatches at Birdland
Birdland Park & Gardens is celebrating the successful hatching of the first king penguin chick in the UK for 12 years
The tiny new arrival hatched at the popular wildlife park in Bourton-on-the-Water following an anxious incubation lasting almost two months, becoming the first king penguin to hatch successfully anywhere in the UK since 2014.
Remarkably, Britain’s previous successful king penguin chick was also hatched at Birdland, giving the Cotswold attraction the distinction of being responsible for the country’s two most recent successful hatchings.
Round-the-Clock Care for Birdland’s New Arrival
Weighing just 188g when it emerged from its egg, the chick is now being hand reared by Birdland’s specialist keeping team, who are providing round-the-clock care during the crucial early stages of its development.
The chick’s parents are French, one of the colony’s younger females, and Frank, Birdland’s most experienced breeding male and already the father of the park’s internationally famous previous chick, Spike.
French was breeding for the first time, while Frank is considerably older than the age king penguins would typically reach in the wild, making the successful hatch particularly significant for the Birdland team.
A Precious King Penguin Egg
The breeding story began when keepers discovered Birdland’s first king penguin egg in six years, but it soon presented them with a challenge.
Shortly after it was laid, keepers discovered that Frank had positioned the egg between his feet rather than balancing it correctly on top. With king penguins producing just one egg and successful breeding notoriously difficult, the team decided to move the precious arrival into an incubator.
At 298g, the egg was also slightly smaller than keepers would normally expect. Against the odds, however, it proved fertile and after weeks of careful monitoring the chick finally began breaking through its shell.
Since hatching, the chick has been carefully fed and monitored, with its weight, feeding and development closely recorded as the team guides it through the vulnerable first stages of life.
An Incredibly Special Moment for Birdland
Alistair Keen, Head of Living Collection at Birdland Park & Gardens, said: “This is an incredibly special moment for everyone at Birdland.
“When the egg was first laid we knew there were several reasons to be cautious. French was a first time breeder, Frank is an elderly gentleman by king penguin standards and the egg itself was smaller than average.
“But nature has surprised us in the best possible way.
“To have the first successful king penguin hatch in the UK since 2014 is fantastic in itself, but the fact that the previous successful hatch also happened here at Birdland makes it particularly special.
“The chick weighed just 188g when it hatched and is now being hand reared by our team, so although reaching this point is a huge milestone, there is still a great deal of work ahead.
“We’re monitoring it extremely closely and every feed and every bit of weight gained is another encouraging step forward.
“We’ve been watching and waiting for almost two months, so finally seeing that little chick emerge from the egg was a wonderful moment for the entire team.”
From 188g to One of the World’s Largest Penguins
King penguins are the second largest penguin species in the world, behind only the emperor penguin, and are instantly recognisable by their striking black, white and golden-yellow plumage.
Adults can weigh up to 18kg, meaning Birdland’s 188g newcomer could eventually grow to almost 100 times its hatching weight.
Unlike many birds, king penguins do not build nests. Their single egg is balanced on the parents’ feet and covered by a warm fold of abdominal skin, with both parents sharing incubation duties.
Their breeding cycle is unusually long, with eggs typically taking around 56 to 60 days to hatch and chicks potentially taking up to 16 months to become fully independent and develop their adult plumage.
For Birdland’s keeping team, the immediate priority is plenty of food, careful monitoring and helping Britain’s newest king penguin chick continue to grow.
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21 August 2026
Images: Cotswold House Photography
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