‘Surprise’ at Newquay Zoo as adorable baby born to ‘one of world’s oldest penguins’

A baby has been born at a popular zoo in Cornwall to one of the world’s oldest penguins. Great-great-grandmother Windy, 30, and her toy partner Nacho, just four, welcomed their new arrival to Newquay Zoo.

The Humboldt penguin surprised everyone at the zoo when it paired up with a young male last breeding season. But the 26-year age difference doesn’t seem to have been an obstacle as this year the couple gave birth to a healthy young cub.

While four-year-old Nacho is a first-time father, Windy became a mother for the first time in 1999 and has since given birth to 23 offspring. Due to the success of her offspring through the 2023 European breeding program, she claimed the title of great-great-grandmother of a cub born in Schwerin Zoo, Germany.

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Even more remarkable about this pair is that Windy may be one of the oldest parent penguins in the world. Penguins – including Humboldt penguins – typically live up to about 30 years in captivity.

But Windy is proving to be as capable a mother as ever to her latest brood. Dan Trevelyan, bird keeper at Newquay Zoo, said: “Windy has been paired with the male penguin, Jet, for a long time and has produced over 20 chicks together.

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“When Windy lost her mate, we didn’t necessarily expect her to pair up with another penguin, but Nacho started courting Windy last year and the two have been devoted to each other ever since. They had a clutch of eggs last spring, but none of them were successful, so we are very happy that the pair had a healthy brood this breeding season.”