Three swans born at Chester Zoo

The cygnets will be leaving Chester Zoo for other wildlife sanctuaries

Three cygnets hatched at Chester Zoo have been taking their first swim.

The new black-necked swans, natives of South America, hatched on Monday and have already taken to the water.

The zoo said it now had five swans in total but the three cygnets will soon leave to join breeding programmes in other wildlife sanctuaries in the UK.

A zoo spokesman said: "The two swans that we have are a good breeding pair, having had babies last year. We expect and hope this will continue."