World’s oldest penguin celebrates birthday with cake made of fish

By Holly Mei-Yu Stafford

The world's oldest penguin has celebrated her 37th birthday with a cake made of fish and ice.

Humboldt penguin Spneb (corr) has lived at Paradise Park zoo, in Hayle, Cornwall, since 1988.

Marking the occasion on Wednesday (April 16), the park presented her with a birthday cake featuring her favourite fish - sprats - topped with a fluffy toy penguin made by one of her keepers.

Spneb's keepers say records kept by zoos around the world suggest she is the oldest of her species across the globe and is "amazing for her age".

Humboldt’s penguins' life expectancy usually ranges between 10 to 15 years.

Becky Waite, one of Spneb's keepers, said: "Spneb continues to have a good appetite, although she's an elderly penguin.

"She is doing amazingly well for her age.

"We have a colony of 24 Humboldt's penguins, including two chicks.

"Spneb likes to keep an eye on all the youngsters while looking out of her box, and her favourite companion is one of the older males."

Born in 1988 at Birdworld, Surrey, Spneb arrived at Paradise Park shortly afterwards.

Her unusual name was picked by keepers after she underwent treatment for a dangerous fungal disease called Aspergillosis in 2007.

At the time, she was being treated with a drug 'Sp' using a nebuliser, or a 'neb' - eventually giving her the unusual name.

The Humboldt penguin is native to the west coast of South America, specifically the Pacific coasts of Chile and Peru.