The Penguin, dubbed ‘Pierre’ is thought to be less than one year old and is currently not waterproof so cannot be released to the wild but is receiving lots of TLC from our veterinary team to get him back to full health. And trust us, with a patient this adorable, it is certainly a labour of LOVE! 

Pierre presented with arrested moult, which basically means he started his feather moult (an annual occurrence for penguins), but it stopped before it was complete. This could have been because he wasn’t getting the right nutrients to sustain his moult or environmental conditions were not favourable. It’s left him looking like a bit of a scrappy pom pom, but we still think he is one handsome rooster (we mean penguin)!

Pierre is quickly becoming a staff favourite. Daily activities include feeding, having a light water mist, checking himself out in the mirror and the all important weigh day to ensure that he’s putting on condition and body mass.

Rockhopper Penguins are one of the rarest penguins in the world. The global population is thought to be less than 240,300 breeding pairs. 

The species are known for their charismatic personalities and distinctive groucho marx eyebrows. Unlike other penguins which will slide around on ice on their bellies,  on land Rockhoppers prefer to hop about the rocky shores of their colony's grounds – hence their common name.