A PENGUIN at an aquarium has been named after Oxford vaccine developer Dame Sarah Gilbert.

A gentoo penguin chick, called Gilbert, has taken the name from one of the UK’s most inspirational women, Sea Life London Aquarium said.

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A penguin has also been named after Britain’s 18-year-old tennis star Emma Raducanu.

Catherine Pritchard, the aquarium’s general manager, said: “Now the sex of the penguin chicks has been established it is a celebratory moment for the aquarium.

“We wanted to name our new females after two standout women of the past 18 months.”

They have only recently been able to establish the sex of the two penguins, who were born in May.

Earlier this month, tennis star Emma Raducanu won the US Open, becoming the first British woman to win a grand slam singles title since Virginia Wade lifted the Wimbledon trophy in 1977.

ALSO READ: Criticism of speed of jab development ‘frustrating’, Dame Sarah Gilbert says

Dame Sarah 'played a life-saving role in the battle against the Covid 19 pandemic, Ms Pritchard said, through her work on the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.

“Therefore we felt it a fitting tribute to commemorate their successes and mark their moments in time by naming our penguin chicks after them,” Ms Pritchard said.

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