Prince William and Kate Middleton adopt baby penguin from Chester Zoo

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The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are the proud new parents of... a newborn baby penguin, after adopting it from Chester Zoo.

The royal couple were given the 12-month adoption of Acorn, an endangered Humboldt penguin, as a wedding present from the zoo, which said it hoped the couple would come and see him soon.

A zoo spokesman told the BBC: 'We thought that as they're both fairly nearby now on Anglesey, then William and Kate might like to take advantage of the free tickets in the adoption pack and spend a day here.

'They would also be able to watch Acorn being fed and we'd be delighted if they chose to renew the adoption at the end of 12 months.'

The zoo unveiled its unique gift to the happy couple after asking followers on social networking sites to choose which of its 400 different species the royal pair should sponsor.

Fans picked the popular penguins, who received over 20% of the votes. Humbolt penguins are an endangered South American species, which naturally live on the coastal areas of Peru and Chile.

Chester Zoo funds conservation initiatives in the penguins' homeland, where they are faced with many pressures including over-fishing of their food and habitat loss.

The spokesman added: 'By adopting an animal at Chester Zoo you are not only contributing towards our massive animal food bill but you are also playing a direct part in conservation by helping to save species from extinction.'

This year, in recognition of the Year of the Forest campaign, the zoo named all its hatchlings with a British tree theme.

The first to hatch was given the name Acorn and the last to hatch the name Oak.
Shame he doesn't realise what famous parents he's got!

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