Five adorable Humboldt penguins who are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List have swum for the first time.

Over the last four months Colchester Zoo’s penguin chicks have been gaining the strength they need in order to be able to make a splash in their pool. The five penguins, who were born in April and May, have spent the last week making up for lost time and enjoying the ability to swim. They have also been shown the ropes by their parents and been fully exploring their home.

The cute creatures are currently nameless as the zoo is waiting to receive DNA results which will reveal their gender.

In order to discover the gender a feather is sent off for testing- this can take a few weeks.

While they patiently wait one of the penguins have been nicknamed by the keepers as “Boulder”, this is because he is the largest chick and his mum is called pebbles. Boulder was the first penguin out of the five to have his first swimming lesson.

Because the penguins are only a few months old they have a blue/grey coat. Once their adult feathers come through they will start to get a black and white Humboldt pattern and individual spots on their bellies - this is how the keepers can tell each of the penguins apart.

As the Humboldt penguins are listed as vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List these chicks are really important for their species.

Don’t miss: Adorable otter pups learning to swim