Dudley Zoo has welcomed three new Humboldts to their Penguin Bay to start rebuilding their penguin colony following a devastating avian malaria outbreak in 2022.

The ten month-old male juveniles arrived last week from Curraghs Wildlife Park in the Isle of Man and are currently settling into an off-show area.

They will soon join the zoo’s remaining five penguins, females Banjo, Sparky, Nell, Jake and male, Elliot in the public walkthrough exhibit, with the hope of them breeding and boosting numbers of the rare species further.

Zoo Director Derek Grove, said: “After losing almost all of our 70-strong Humboldt colony to a devastating outbreak of avian malaria at the start of 2022, we’ve focused our efforts into continuing to care for the surviving penguins and putting into place additional preventative measures to deter any reoccurrence.

“It’s been an incredibly testing time for our bird team, but these three new arrivals are very special, as they’ll hopefully play an important role in being founding members of DZC’s new Humboldt colony as we aim to replicate our past success of having one of the largest self-sustained groups in the country once more.”

Listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List due to a declining population, the South American-native species is threatened by climate change, habitat destruction and over-fishing.

To find out more about Dudley Zoo and to book tickets, visit dudleyzoo.org.uk.