Cotswolds penguin Spike crowned world's favourite flightless bird

A penguin described arsenic "a existent personality" has been crowned the world's astir fashionable flightless bird.

Spike, who lives astatine Birdland successful the Cotswolds, gained the astir votes successful a planetary contention held by foundation Penguins International.

The King Penguin was hatched astatine the centre successful 2007 and hand-reared aft his parent and begetter abandoned him.

"For Spike to person made rather specified a planetary interaction is truly incredible," said his keeper, Alistair Keen.

Spike has 15,000 Facebook followers, has been featured successful a David Attenborough TV programme called Natural Curiosities and adjacent had his ain conception connected a programme called Penguins Make You Laugh Out Loud.

The penguin besides features connected Christmas and day cards, arsenic good arsenic connected the beforehand screen of encyclopaedias, and successful books and magazines.

"Spike has a existent property and we each person a fantastic enslaved with him, having raised him from conscionable an egg," Mr Keen added.

The King Penguin is the 2nd largest taxon of penguin, smaller, but somewhat akin successful quality to the Emperor Penguin.

Spike was up against Mai, an African penguin who lives successful Hawaii.

In the extremity the effect was incredibly close, with Spike conscionable edging triumph by a borderline of 50.5% to Mai's 49.5%.

On his mode to the last 15-year-old Spike had already beaten disconnected competitors from arsenic acold afield arsenic Australia, America and Canada successful the Penguins International 'March of The Penguins Madness' challenge.

The Penguins Madness situation contention aims to rise consciousness of the plight of chaotic penguins.