There are 93 Humboldt penguins in London Zoo and ‘93 different characters,’ laughs keeper Zuzana Boumrah. ‘They’re very funny – they like to take advantage of the fact there are so many of them and they bully us, pecking our legs and trousers.’
Although there are 18 species of penguin in the world, the zoo’s are all Humboldts. Native to Chile and Peru, they’re comfortable in the British climate. Their enclosure is designed to reflect their natural habitat, with a sandy area for nesting and pebbles at the opposite end, ‘really important for healthy feet’, and water with a current, as they prefer moving water to a still pond.
The penguins are fed on fish, principally sprats, but in the wild, they’re opportunistic and will even swallow ducklings. Their lives are less precarious here: ‘They’re clumsy, but usually good parents. Penguins do abandon their chicks sometimes, but we don’t allow Nature to take its course.’ Lost chicks are raised by the keepers, but ‘at about three years old, they stop being affectionate. That’s when they take partners for nesting. They’re not monogamous – they will flirt!’
All 93 penguins have names, usually in themes, such as Game of Thrones. Counting is done on land because ‘they move too fast in the water’. Zuzana is reluctant to name a favourite, but cites Lopez: ‘I hand-reared her so we bonded. She’s growing up now – she’s more interested in the other penguins.’
Intelligent and capable of learning – such as how to hop onto scales to have their condition checked – for a fish reward, the penguins are unquestionably inquisitive. ‘They get involved in every activity.
'We’ll rake up the leaves and they’ll carry them away. Once, the BBC was filming here and the penguins would take apart the equipment and run away with it, always the most expensive bits. We had to run after them and get it all back. They’re so cheeky!’
Credit: Debbie Ryan
The rhino who reads Country Life
Yes - really. Monty the rhino enjoyed his Country Life fame so much that he had to have a look
Credit: Richard Cannon/Country Life Picture Library
Rudi the otter: 'we had to convince Parliament to focus on clean water and the easiest way to do that was with a baby otter'
Affectionate and loving he may be, but small-clawed otter Rudi has a purpose.
Credit: Richard Cannon/Country Life PIcture Library
The Devil’s Horsemen: The stallion who's starred in Game of Thrones, Wonder Woman and The Crown
Octavia Pollock visits Camilla Naprous of The Devil’s Horsemen to find out more about the horses they train for film.
Credit: Richard Cannon / Country Life
Matthew Parris on his llamas: 'They’re interested in everything humans are doing'
Matthew Parris, the MP-turned-journalist/political commentator, keeps pet llamas at his home in Derbyshire. He spoke to Octavia Pollock.
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The nativity camels: Unbelievably clever, a tad greedy and undeniably festive‘They know we’d never take them anywhere dangerous. They trust us so much.'
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The Shetland pony who goes to the races‘The louder people cheer, the faster they go. It gets faster and faster all week – or my nerves get worse!’
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The chickens of Wyken Hall: Mischievous, adorable and the best listeners a person could ask for‘In my left-leaning youth, they would attend meetings, but my comrades voted to remove them. That was when I realised my time there was up – the chickens were very concerned about the Albanian question!’
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Britain's first giant tortoises: 'They’ve been around for 200 million years - we’re a blip to them'Adrian Graham is passionate about his pets, which can live for up to 250 years and grow to the size of a rather tall man.
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Animal Magic: ‘For a while because the canal was full of buffalo – they had to close it for 24 hours to get them out!’Roger Alsop tells the story of his water buffalo, from buffalo mozzarella and local ice cream.
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Rudi the otter: 'we had to convince Parliament to focus on clean water and the easiest way to do that was with a baby otter'Affectionate and loving he may be, but small-clawed otter Rudi has a purpose.
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The Devil’s Horsemen: The stallion who's starred in Game of Thrones, Wonder Woman and The CrownOctavia Pollock visits Camilla Naprous of The Devil’s Horsemen to find out more about the horses they train for film.
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Matthew Parris on his llamas: 'They’re interested in everything humans are doing'Matthew Parris, the MP-turned-journalist/political commentator, keeps pet llamas at his home in Derbyshire. He spoke to Octavia Pollock.
