The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) has named a gentoo penguin chick after Aston Villa captain John McGinn, who scored Scotland's first World Cup goal for 28 years. The chick, born on 27 April 2026, is part of a successful breeding season at the zoo's Penguins Rock enclosure.
Honouring a World Cup Hero
Zoo keeper Alison MacLean said: "After John McGinn scored Scotland's first World Cup goal for 28 years we wanted to honour his achievement. We noticed one of our gentoo penguin chicks has a strong left flipper and knew we had to name them after the man himself." The chick, named McGinn, hatched to parents Harris and Valerie and is among gentoo and Northern rockhopper chicks born this season.
Keepers have fitted the chick with a blue and white armband to distinguish him from the colony of over 150 penguins, as reported by the Scottish Daily Express.
Gentoo Penguin Facts
Gentoo penguins are the fastest swimmers among penguins, reaching speeds up to 22mph. Their natural habitat spans the coastlines and islands of Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic.
John McGinn's Career
The real McGinn, 31, captains Aston Villa in England after starting his career with St Mirren and Hibernian. In May, he led the Birmingham club to a Europa League victory. He scored the only goal in Scotland's 1-0 win over Haiti, before a narrow 1-0 defeat to Morocco. Scotland's final Group C fixture against Brazil is set for Wednesday evening in Miami.
MacLean added: "While our McGinn won't be scoring goals anytime soon, we hope visitors will enjoy seeing the curious chick grow up. Who knows, they might just get a call from Steve Clarke for the 2030 squad."
