- Humboldt penguin at Yorkshire zoo that 'thinks she is a human'
- Webster was raised by her keeper after being rejected at birth by parents
- She became 'part of the family' and even answers to her own name
- Now reintegrated, she still insists on a cuddle before going to sleep
A zookeeper literally has to p-p-p-ick up a penguin every night because she cannot sleep until she has had a cuddle.
Webster was separated from her natural parents when she was just three days old after they rejected her, and was instead taken under the wing of John Pickering and his family.
Having been nursed by Mr Pickering night and day for three months, the cute Humboldt penguin now thinks he is her surrogate father, and refuses to go to sleep until he has given her a loving hug.
Birds of a feather: Webster, an 11-year-old
Humboldt penguin, will not go to sleep without a goodnight cuddle from
her surrogate father, John Pickering
Chin up: Webster went to live with Mr Pickering and his family when she was rejected by her parents in 2002
Mr Pickering, who has worked at Sewerby Hall Zoo in East Yorkshire for 34 years, said: 'It’s possible she thinks she’s a human, since she grew up in our family home. She looks at me like a surrogate dad, so we have a really close bond.
'Every evening she likes to follow me round, watching me put all the other penguins to bed. It’s like she’s helping me.
'Then, when it comes to her bedtime, she won’t go to bed without a hug, so I have to put my arm around her and give her a little scratch on her head.'
Webster - named by Mr Pickering's two sons James and Thomas due to her webbed feet - had to be fed four times a day at regular intervals for the first three months of her life, starting at 6.30am and not finishing until midnight.
She was born in 2002 to parents Rosie and Dion, but was rejected by them because they already had another chick.
To ensure she survived, the Pickerings had to mimic the penguin's feeding technique to make sure Webster, now 11, ate properly.
Natural pose: Webster poses from the camera at Sewerbury Zoo in East Yorkshire
'It takes two people to feed (a penguin) so it’s quite difficult. I had to pick up my wife from work and we’d both go back at lunchtime and feed her - it was a lot of running around.
'After about a month she could eat small fish, so it was a lot easier. My sons, who at that time were about 17 and 15, named her Webster because of her webbed feet.
'They didn’t know she was a girl at the time because you can’t tell until they’re a bit older. Females have a flatter head and males are more rounded.
'She was really part of the family. At the time we had a Norfolk terrier who Webster got on well with. She answers to her own name when you call her.'
While the family of four enjoyed having Webster living with them at their home in Bridlington, East Yorkshire, they knew that she would have to be reintegrated with the other penguins in the longer term.
Mr Pickering said: 'She was fine with the other penguins. Obviously there is a pecking order and they assume rank but she’s never had any problems.'
And while she has been successfully integrated with the rest of the flock, she insists on 'helping' John at work, following him on his rounds every evening to put the other birds to bed.
When it comes to her turn she cannot sleep without a goodnight hug from her ‘dad’, so he bends down to give the 18ins bird a cuddle.
Attached: Despite being reintegrated with the other penguins, Webster still insists on following her surrogate father abou.
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