As the spring sun shone, Squid, the larger and elder of the two, and Boof, were introduced to the public area by the park's head penguin keeper Hanna Geeson.

For around the first six weeks of their life, the penguin chicks are reared by their parents in an area out of sight from visitors.

This is just a taster for now: they will both join the rest of the penguin group permanently in a few weeks when they are fully fledged and have completely lost their fluffy juvenile down.

Squid is also something of a milestone new arrival at the park as the very first second-generation chick to be born there. The juvenile, who weighs around one kilogram, was fathered by Blue, who was himself born at the wildlife park in 2017. Squid's mother Lany was drafted in from Sydney Sealife Aquarium.

There were three chicks at the park this year, with the third - called Tucker - still nesting with its parents.

They bring the total number of Little Penguins now resident at the park to 23, up from 12 when the display first opened in 2017 with the help of a state tourism grant.

Little penguins are the smallest species of the aquatic bird, with colonies dotted along the coast, including in Warrnambool, Philip Island and in St Kilda.

The penguin enclosure in Ballarat is one of the nearest places to Melbourne where the birds can be seen. Feeding presentations take place at 12.30 on weekends and holidays.

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