This species nests on rocky coastal areas and islands, mainly using guano burrows for raising their young. Some Humboldt penguins migrate over 1,000km between Peru and Chile after moulting their winter feathers in March. They can dive 30-50 metres in search of fish, but can also feed on squid and crustaceans.
Fun fact – Humboldt penguins can swim up to 30mph!
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Ecology
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Threats
Fewer than 24,000 Humboldt penguins were estimated to be present in the wild as of 2017. These remaining individuals are at risk due to pollution from industrial activities, being caught in trawling nets intended to catch other species, and predation by feral cats and dogs. Humboldt penguins are also at risk of further population decline due to the damage done to nests at breeding sites by human tourists.
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Conservation
To protect the Humboldt penguin, there is currently a Guano System National Reserve in place – this is a network of connected headlands around Humboldt penguin nests to protect them and their main prey species. Alongside this, an ex-situ programme is in place to raise chicks from neglected eggs. Artificial insemination using frozen sperm samples has also been conducted to further ex-situ conservation breeding efforts.
Nature’s SAFE stores samples from the Humboldt penguin here in the UK to further protect this species from decline.
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Preserved January 2024
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