The p-p-p-patter of tiny feet is being heard at Folly Farm this week with the arrival of its first penguin chicks.

A year to the day that the pack of 24 Humboldt penguins took up residence in their new enclosure at the attraction’s zoo, the first baby made its entrance.

The fluffy grey youngster is the offspring of Donna and Diavlo, who paired off and build a nest together in February.

The little penguin’s hatching on Tuesday (May 20) was followed this morning (Thursday) by its second pool-mate, whose parents are Hollister and Villeneuve.

And there looks set to be a baby-boom in the state-of-the art enclosure, which has its own penguin nursery.

Nine more eggs are being incubated by other penguin parents, and should be hatched any day soon.

Said zoo manager Tim Morphew: “The arrival of chicks in our penguine enclosure demonstrates that we have successfully created a healthy breeding environment for our penguins that is as close as possible to their natural habitat.

“We are delighted that our first breeding season has been a success, and we look forward to welcoming more little ones to our penguin creche.”

The baby penguins are currently being reared by their parents in their nesting boxes, and will not be able to be seen by the public until they are ready to leave the nest.