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Meet the new rock chicks at a UK safari park

An adult Humboldt penguin with black and white markings stands beside a rock while a baby Humboldt penguin, brown in colour and much smaller, stands next to it.Image source, West Midlands Safari Park
Image caption,

Move over, Seal. It's all about the rock 'n' roll with these baby penguin chicks

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Oasis and Ozzy are the newest additions to the Humboldt penguin family at a safari park in the West Midlands.

The pair are named after two musical legends, rock and roll band Oasis and lead singer of Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne.

There are only 20,000 Humboldt penguins left in the wild, so these new chicks are helping to increase the population of the cute creatures.

Megan Brindley, who cares for the penguins, says "both chicks are adorable bundles of grey fluff and are getting bigger every day".

How much do you know about Humboldt penguins?

One of the new chicks is pictured behind a lying down adult penguin while another adult penguin stands in front of them both. They are positioned in front of a hole in the rocks.Image source, West Midlands Safari Park
Image caption,

You gotta roll with it, our kid.

  • Humboldt penguins are found in Coastal Peru and Chile, in South America.

  • They collect little pebbles to decorate their nests with when laying eggs.

  • You might think the birds are very polite because they never chew with their mouths open, but that's because they don't actually chew at all! Humboldt penguins like to swallow their fish head first. Wow, even Ozzy bit the head off first!

  • Their torpedo-shaped bodies can shoot through the water at speeds of up to 30 miles per hour!

  • They can dive up to 500 feet (152 metres) underwater to search for their favourite snacks, like fish, shrimp and squid.