SEA LIFE London Aquarium welcomed Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert to meet the five month old Gentoo penguin chick named in honour of the British vaccinologist.

Named Gilbert, the Gentoo chick is one of two females born at the London Aquarium’s Penguin Point as part of an ongoing captive breeding programme.

Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert, who co-developed the Oxford AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, met the team of aquarists behind the programme to find out more about how they care for Gilbert, as well as Raducanu, the other penguin chick named after 18 year old tennis sensation Emma Raducanu.

On welcoming Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert to the attraction, General Manager Catherine Pritchard said: “We are thrilled that Professor Gilbert has come to meet our new chicks, one of which was named in recognition of the incredible part she played in the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic. The birth of the new chicks was a celebratory moment for the Aquarium and we wanted to mark the special occasion by celebrating two standout women of the past 18 months.”

The newest members of SEA LIFE London Aquarium’s colony of Gentoo penguins are the latest chicks to be born at the attraction in recent years. Their successful breeding is due in part to the strong European collaborative captive breeding programme that the London Aquarium is involved with.

Gentoo penguins are great ambassadors for all wildlife found on the Antarctic Peninsula, a location which is under great threat from climate change, microplastic pollution and the negative effects of human activity.

Gentoo penguins are just one of the fantastic marine creatures that can be seen at SEA LIFE London Aquarium, others include a Dwarf Crocodile, Nurse Sharks and Sea Turtles.

Visitors can catch a glimpse of Raducanu and Gilbert, along with the rest of the colony at the attraction’s Penguin Point inside Polar Adventure.