EVERY evening when the penguins at Sewerby are put to bed, one refuses to go until he is given a hug by the zookeeper.
Webster was hand-reared by zookeeper John Pickering for three months when he was born.
The Humboldt penguin is one of the first over to John when the fish lunch is handed out.
"Hand-rearing Webster is one of the most rewarding jobs I have ever done," says John.
"He is one of two I've hand-reared from three days old to three months, with the last feed at midnight and then first thing in the morning.
"Their diet was a blend of fish, mixed with salt water and a vitamin supplement, which I would syringe feed the penguins. They both still come over for a huddle now."
Taking his work home has never been an issue for Bridlington born and bred John.
"My wife is used to me coming home with a box and saying, 'what have you got in the box this time?'" he says.
"I also hand-reared a monkey after he had to be taken away from his mother, who had a habit of chewing baby's tails. She had done it to one and killed him.
"When she started again with the second baby, we took the baby away from her – if we hadn't it would have probably died.
"I was very grateful to my wife as she was the one who would get up in the middle of the night for the night feed."
The zoo at Sewerby is home to animals found all over the world. It is a highlight for many people's trip to the area.
For John, who has worked on the east coast site for 34 years, it is a dream job.
"It is a dream come true working here," he says, carrying a plate of dandelion leaves for the four tortoises that live in the zoo.
"We had a tortoise and rabbits and a dog when I was younger and I spent a lot of time out in the countryside climbing trees, looking for frog spawn and bird watching.
"I wasn't really academic enough as, back in those days, it was all exam-based. I was never good at finishing exams, so I didn't get the qualifications to go to university to be a nature conservationist.
"But I had a love for animals and a love for the outdoors and I just happened to go in the career centre one day and they said there was a gardening and zoo job going at Sewerby.
"I went for the interview and got the job."
Back in the 1940s, Sewerby boasted aviaries, but like many seaside towns across Britain, the big zoo boom came in the 1960s.
John, who started working at Sewerby in 1979, says: "When I first started we had more animals, but the conditions weren't as good. We even had quite large tree monkeys, but the conditions weren't good enough really.
"Now, the monkeys' enclosure is four times the size, landscaped naturally with bushes – it looks like a mini-rainforest.
"Since the zoo licence came out we have been inspected every three years. You've got to keep the animals in the best condition you can and I'm all for that.
"In an ideal world you probably wouldn't have captive animals, but unfortunately we don't live in an ideal world.
"On the other hand, we do a lot of work with the Royal Pheasant Association helping pheasants in the wild because a lot of the pheasants in the wild are endangered species.
"We have Edward's Pheasants here which are classed as critically endangered in the wild. We breed them here as part of the European endangered breeding programme."
Despite spending more than three decades working at the zoo, John is constantly learning about the animals.
"Probably the most mischievous animals are the monkeys," he says.
"Unfortunately, they aren't that keen on females and can be quite aggressive.
"The only person who can go in and see them is myself. The only reason I can is that they accept me as the leader of the group and might see the other staff members as threats to their territory. I have been here as long as they have been.
"There are three male keepers here, but the rest are female, so if we need to do something in the front of the monkey enclosure I go in and have someone watching me because they can be unpredictable. But the monkeys are fine with me.
"We'll shut the shutter and the other guys can come in and do whatever work we need to do."
With the recent warm weather, the zoo staff have been making an extra special effort to keep the animals cool.
"They do like the warm weather and most animals are out basking in the sunshine, including our newest addition, the ring-tailed lemurs," says John.
"We've just had two Shetland sheep and our Alpaca sheared because, obviously, with this weather they were feeling the heat. I think they are more appreciative of us doing that.
"We always get asked if the penguins struggle in the hot weather, but they are Humboldt penguins and are found along the west coast of South America, so they will be loving the sunshine.
"We have, in the past, done ice lollies for animals, putting fruit in a water tray and freezing it and the Kune Kune pigs will have some mud rubbed on their skin to protect them from the sun."
It may seem unusual to some, but it is all in a day's work for John.
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