Easter celebrates new life – so it's fitting that Weymouth Sea Life Adventure has announced the arrival of a penguin chick.

A baby Humboldt penguin which hatched recently is now being carefully hand-reared by the animal care team.

The park said it took the 'difficult decision' to intervene as there were signs the chick – whose parents are Preciosa and Sequoia – was not feeding.

Kico Iraola, curator of the aquarium, said: “We are very proud of parents Preciosa and Sequoia for safely hatching their baby chick.

“Unfortunately, we had had to step in and take over its care to give it the best chance of survival. We are very pleased that the chick is now feeding well and putting on weight, so we will do our best to ensure it continues to grow strong enough to re-join the rest of the colony here at the park.”

Experts are currently looking after the growing Humboldt chick in a safe quarantine area, which is not on public view.

Kico said: “Humboldt penguins are not usually ready to leave the safety of the nest until they’re almost fully-grown and have their waterproof feathers. So it will be a little while until our guests at the park will be able to see the chick out in its enclosure.”

The park is also home to the only colony of Fairy penguins in Europe. The team hope that the smallest penguins in the world follow the lead of their Humboldt friends and start to breed soon.