Sewerby Hall and Gardens: Meet the zookeeper who looks after Rosie the world's oldest Humboldt penguin as she celebrates her 32nd birthday

It's a relationship which has outlasted many marriages.
Rosie is believed to be the world's oldest penguin Picture: Danny Lawson/PA WireRosie is believed to be the world's oldest penguin Picture: Danny Lawson/PA Wire
Rosie is believed to be the world's oldest penguin Picture: Danny Lawson/PA Wire

Zookeeper John Pickering first set eyes on Rosie the Humboldt penguin when he picked her up from Birdworld in Surrey to bring her to Sewerby Hall and Gardens near Bridlington.

Rosie was just three months old and he was 28. Celebrating her 32nd birthday today (Wednesday April 20), she is thought to be the oldest Humboldt penguin in the world, while John recently celebrated his 60th.

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She suffers from arthritis now and walks slower on land, but pain relief - given in a sprat - helps.

Rosie has been looked after by head zookeeper John Pickering since she was three months old  Picture: Danny Lawson/PA WireRosie has been looked after by head zookeeper John Pickering since she was three months old  Picture: Danny Lawson/PA Wire
Rosie has been looked after by head zookeeper John Pickering since she was three months old Picture: Danny Lawson/PA Wire

It is one of the reasons for her amazing longevity - along with being handfed and not having to run the gauntlet of predators like leopard seals.

John said: "We think she's the world's oldest Humboldt penguin, but can't say for certain. We have a quarterly vet visit and we always discuss the quality of her life.

"We wouldn't want her to be suffering too much.

"She still has a really good appetite and she is still really good in the pool. She doesn't do a lot apart from at feed time."

Sewerby Hall also hosts events like jousting Picture Richard PonterSewerby Hall also hosts events like jousting Picture Richard Ponter
Sewerby Hall also hosts events like jousting Picture Richard Ponter
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When John approaches Rosie in her enclosure, she doesn't stir from her comfortable position on her belly by the pool, unlike her first grandchild Pickle, who was hand-reared by John and is not yet one year old.

Clearly deeply attached, she follows him around like a shadow and wriggles excitedly when he is near.

Pickle is the third chick hand-reared by John, who became an "older parent" unexpectedly after a gap of 18 years.

John, who grew up in the outskirts of Bridlington, always liked wildlife from being a child and wanted to be a nature conservationist.

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His uncle Jim had donkeys on the beach and used to do donkey derbys back in the 1970s. He got his first job at Sewerby Hall aged 17.

Generally staff at the zoo try to avoid hand-rearing chicks, but the egg containing Pickle was abandoned by her father, who normally take turns with the mother looking after her.

John said: "We were all ready to throw the egg out after 41 days, but it tweeted, it was starting to pip ( break out of the shell) so I got it back in the incubator and took it home.

"She follows me everywhere but she has to learn to be a penguin now.

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"She is the one I'm closest to. I never thought I'd be doing it again, and had to get all my notes out - it was hard work."

Rearing her meant four feeds a day, the last at midnight, and that could take an hour, while feeding her fish blended with water, was "awful" he says, for a vegan, and even more unpleasant when they sneeze while eating.

Still in her soft grey and white juvenile plumage, Pickle feels surprisingly warm and soft to the touch, a result of the blubber the penguins carry, to cope with the cold water Humboldt current they swim in.

Humboldt penguins - which nest only in parts of Chile and Peru - have been hard hit by human encroachment, overfishing of their food staples, anchovies and squid and warmer than usual El Nino ocean temperatures, which make it harder for them to find food.

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The once plentiful species is now labelled "vulnerable to extinction" in part because the guano which they tunnel into to make their burrows is dug out and exported to countries including the UK for fertiliser.

Full details of all opening times, prices, annual passes, the Clock Tower Café, and all facilities are available at www.sewerbyhall.co.uk

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