Chester Zoo in northern England says a pair of male Humboldt penguins, named Scampi and Flounder, are successfully rearing one of the facility’s 10 chicks hatched this spring. Keepers moved an egg from the nest of breeding pair Wotsit and Peach to the same-sex couple to balance parental duties and improve fledging chances. The chick, whose sex has not yet been determined, is expected to begin its first swimming lessons in the coming days after nearly quadrupling in size since hatching in late April. The brood marks a record breeding season for the zoo, lifting its Humboldt colony to 63 birds. Listed as ‘vulnerable’ by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, the South American species has suffered an estimated 85 % population decline over four decades because of climate change and habitat loss. Chester Zoo participates in a Europe-wide breeding programme aimed at preserving genetic diversity, with team manager Zoe Sweetman calling the 2025 results “a significant win for the species.”