Meet the Mafia! Four vulnerable penguins become latest residents at zoo

A group of penguins are the newest residents to arrive at a specialist penguin centre at a zoo in Pembrokeshire.

The bachelor group of four macaroni penguins have been named the 'Macaroni Mafia' and are made up of Tony the Don, Vinny the Voice, Frankie the Fish and Little Nico.

The clan moved to Folly Farm from a zoo and aquarium in Torquay. They will be living in harmony with the zoo's existing group of Humboldt penguins at the £500,000 penguin habitat which is set over two acres.

Best known for their distinctive yellow crest feathers and prominent orange beak, the macaroni penguin is a large species of penguin found in the Sub-Antarctic and Antarctic Peninsula.

Its common name is thought to have been inspired by the term ‘Macaroni’ which was used in 18th-century Britain to describe a man whose style of dress was flamboyant and excessively ornamented.

Macaroni penguins live on cliffs and rocky areas above the ocean and get around by hopping, rather than waddling. They can live up to 20 years.

The species is classed as vulnerable, meaning they likely to become endangered unless the circumstances threatening its survival such as climate change, commercial fishing, and oil pollution change.

Folly Farm hope to soon begin its own conservation breeding programme and is on the waiting list for females.