Make a Splash for Penguins

The Humboldt Penguin (Spheniscus humboldti)

Humboldt penguins live along the arid desert Pacific coast of South America, from Isla Foca off the coast of Peru to Algarrobo in Chile, with a few isolated colonies on the Punihuil Islands. Their population is in serious decline, and the major causes include overfishing of prey species, entanglement in fishing nets and commercial guano harvesting. There are currently around 10,000 – 12,000 birds remaining in the wild. The majority of them live in Chile, with approximately 4,200 penguins living in Peru.

Fascinating Facts

Humboldt penguins lose all their feathers each year and systematically replace them with new ones in a process called molting.
Thirty-two species of extinct penguins have been identified in the Southern Hemisphere.
Humboldt penguins are named after the cold Humboldt current which flows along the coast of North and South America.

Range Map

Penguin Colonies
Humboldt penguins are social animals, living in relatively large colonies, where communication is important. Colonies are beneficial because they provide collective defense against predators. Unlike Antarctic penguins that huddle together in large groups to stay warm, Humboldt penguins have no need to do this because of the temperate, maritime climate in which they live. Instead, to warm up or cool down, Humboldt penguins seek the security and comfort of their nesting burrows or move into the water.

Born to Swim
Humboldt penguins have a body adapted for swimming. Using their strong wings, they “fly” underwater, usually just below the surface, at speeds of up to 17 miles per hour, steering with their feet and tail. Penguin feathers are stiff and overlap to waterproof and insulate their body. Dense feathers also protect the penguin in winds of up to 60 miles per hour. Humboldt penguins, like all penguins, can see easily underwater and on land. Also, these birds have a supraorbital salt gland which enables them to drink salt water in addition to fresh water. The gland withdraws excess salt from the penguins’ blood and excretes it in a concentrated solution which dribbles down the bill. In zoos, Humboldt penguins usually live in fresh water and as a result the gland is dormant. Living only in fresh water does not affect the penguins’ health.

Penguin Diet

Diet in the wild: Fish, especially anchovies, herring and smelt.
Diet at the zoo: Live trout, smelt and herring with vitamins added.

Reproduction
Humboldt penguins, like all penguins, are monogamous. Mated penguins can recognize one another through vocal and visual mechanisms within the colony. Parents and offspring can also recognize each other easily using sight and sound. Each penguin has a unique voice which allows its mate and offspring to recognize it.

Humboldt penguins can breed at any time of the year. Sexual maturity is reached between two and seven years old. Nests are made in caves, cracks or holes and occasionally in more open sites such as rocky shore. Humboldt penguins usually dig burrow-like nests in ancient deposits of guano (accumulated droppings of sea birds many feet thick). Females lay one or two eggs and the incubation period is approximately 40 days. Both parents take turns incubating the eggs. Chicks are born with greyish brown, downy feathers then molt into completely grey feathers when they fledge (leave the nest). Humboldt penguin chicks fledge at about 70–90 days. Approximately one year after chicks fledge, they molt into the adult plumage.

Threats to Survival
Humboldt penguins are endangered and conservation actions must be taken quickly to ensure their survival or the species could be extinct within a few decades. It is estimated that only 10,000–12,000 survive in the wild. Threats include loss of food during El Niño periods, guano harvesting, commercial overfishing and direct persecution by humans.

The Humboldt penguin relies on a great availability of food from the Humboldt current, which flows northward along the west coast of South America, bringing nutrient-rich water from Antarctica. This region is particularly susceptible to El Niño periods when the cooler waters of the Humboldt current become displaced by warmer nutrient-poor waters, forcing the species of fish Humboldt penguins depend on for food to move further offshore in search of cooler currents. Penguins may completely abandon breeding efforts during these periods, and even face starvation. The El Niño of 1997–98 had a devastating affect on Humboldt penguins.

Humboldt penguins also face a number of human-made hazards. The guano in which many penguins make their nests is a valuable fertilizer used in agriculture and commercial guano harvesting leaves nothing for the birds to burrow into. Humans disrupt the penguins by removing and destroying the guano during nesting season. Humboldt penguins also must compete with the offshore fishing industry in Peru and Chile and they often get caught in fishing nets and drown. Other threats to Humboldt penguins include oil spills, humans collecting their eggs for food or killing the birds to use as bait, disturbances caused by tourists and introduced predators such as rats, cats and dogs.