A pair of Humboldt Penguins at a wildlife sanctuary in Cornwall are now proud parents to a chick.

The new Humboldt penguin chick, named Pebbles, was hatched at Paradise Park in Cornwall to parents Houdini and Rory, in full view of the park's visitors.

Becky Waite, the keeper, said: “Lots of people will know of Houdini.

“She is a friendly penguin, famous for escaping the enclosure in her younger days, hence her name.

“She would scale the waterfall, and using rocks for leverage, would jump up and over the wall.''

(Image: Paradise Park Wildlife Sanctuary)

The pair and their chick can be seen on the live webcam on the sanctuary's website at https://paradisepark.org.uk/events-and-news/penguin-webcam/

At the age of 29, Houdini is an outdoor bird and is unlike all the other penguins which use specially built huts.

She made nests and laid eggs in full view but never found a committed partner.

The penguin eventually found a partner in Rory five years ago.

(Image: Paradise Park Wildlife Sanctuary)

The pair had laid eggs before this but did not enjoy successful hatching until now, often due to inexperience or being predated by gulls.

To boost protection against bird flu and gulls, netting now covers the enclosure.

Ms Waite said: “It is unusual to be able to see a chick developing at this early age, as it would normally be happening out of sight in one of the dens, so we are very lucky.

“Many visitors will enjoy sharing this very special rare experience this summer.

“We have named the chick Pebbles, some penguins make a nest of sticks, others use burrows, but Humboldt’s carefully choose and arrange a few pebbles of just the right size before laying eggs.

“Pebbles has started to have a wander a little way from the nest every now and then (clearly taking after mum) and you can sometimes see this on the LIVE WEBCAM.

“Pebbles is doing amazingly well, gaining weight and had a vet check last week and all was good.”