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Viewing Hints
Feedings usually can be seen around 1:30 on weekends.
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Humboldt penguin
Spheniscus humboldti
| Size |
Between 26-28 inches long |
| Weight |
They weigh 8-13 pounds |
| Conservation Status |
On the 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the Humboldt penguin is listed as Vulnerable. |
| Diet |
In the wild, Humboldt penguins eat small schooling fish like anchovies and sardines.
In the Zoo, they receive five types of fish. Their diet is based on the calories needed for different stages of life along with a variety of supplemental vitamins. They are fed three times a day at the Zoo. Trout and silversides seem to be their favorite fish, although their preferences do change at different times of the year. |
| Geographic Range |
The Humboldt penguin is found on the west coast of South America along the coast of Chile and Peru in the region of the cold water Humboldt current. |
| Where to find me in the Zoo |
Bird Valley |
Note: Description below should include Longevity, Behavior, and Reproduction information
The Humboldt penguin is mostly blackish-gray in color with a white breast. The adults have a black horseshoe shaped band on the breast and a white head stripe. They are between 26 and 28 inches long and weigh 8-13 pounds. Males are slightly larger than females. The Humboldt penguin has a strong and powerful bill that is black with a gray transverse bar and a hooked tip. Their flipper is a modified wing that lacks flight feathers. When on land they look ungainly, but in the water they are amazing streamlined swimmers.
Humboldt penguins nest on islands or on rocky stretches of mainland coast, especially in areas with cliffs.
Humboldt penguins live an average of 10 years but birds in captivity can live longer than 20 years.
The penguins breed in large colonies known as rookeries. They use their feet to excavate burrows or nest in caves or natural crevices. Their nests are lined with feathers and are constructed by the male. They will breed any time of year, and females usually lay a clutch of two or rarely three eggs. The eggs are laid about three days apart. Incubation is 40 days and is done by both parents. Both parents also feed the chicks by regurgitation. One of the largest known breeding colonies is found at Punta San Juan, Peru.
Humboldt penguins are intensely social and gregarious and are usually found in groups. They have superb swimming skills, which rivals seals and porpoises.
The wings of the Humboldt penguin have evolved into flippers that propel them through the water. Their stiff, close-packed feathers overlap for better insulation and water proofing, and their bodies are highly streamlined to ease their passage through water.
There are 20 Humboldt penguins at the Zoo: 11 males, 8 females and 1 chick. In the 2007 season, three chicks were successfully hatched, Noah, Gilligan and Pancake. In the 2008 season, one chick was successfully hatched, Spud.
Noah: Male, hatched May 11, 2007 to Old Stony (dad) and Calvin (mom).
Gilligan: Male, hatched May 13, 2007 to Old Stony (dad) and Calvin (mom).
Pancake: Male, hatched May 15, 2007 to Loverboy (dad) and Calfred (mom).
Spud: Unknown, hatched April 2, 2008 to Old Stony (dad) and Calvin (mom).
Enrichment
Adoption Information
Featured Foster Parent
The Philadelphia Zoo's individual penguins are identified with a unique color combination of beads and bands worn on their wing. Each of the Zoo's penguins is hand-fed individually; this helps to make sure that all of the birds eat well. This also helps to reduce the amount of food that ends up eaten by the seagulls, but it does not keep them from hanging around!
Some of the Zoo's penguins acquire their names through their behavior, Rocko and Old Stoney both used to have a habit of incubating rocks. Fortunately, both have since figured out what they are supposed to do and have each fathered offspring
Enrichment
Humboldt penguins feed in the cold, rich waters of the Humboldt Current off the Pacific coast of South America. When on shore, penguins, along with other seabirds like gulls, terns, cormorants, boobies, and pelicans produce huge deposits of droppings, or guano.
Guano is a valuable source of nitrogen and is “mined” from seabird roosting and nesting areas and sold as fertilizer. Uncontrolled guano mining can destroy important seabird nesting sites and endanger seabird populations.
The Philadelphia Zoo has joined with the St. Louis Zoo and the Brookfield Zoo to support Project Punta San Juan that employs wildlife biologists who monitor penguins and other seabirds on Punta San Juan, the largest penguin breeding colony in Peru. The Zoo has twice sent volunteers to monitor guano mining – in 2001 and 2007. During the 2007 trip Zoo educator, Siobahn Donnelly, also worked with local educators to help develop an education program about wildlife for the community.
The Project also funded the maintenance of a wall around the penguin nesting areas to protect the birds from predators like foxes, and feral dogs and cats. Project biologists also work with local residents and the Peruvian government to educate them about the harmful effects of overfishing to the penguin, seabird, and marine mammal communities of Punta San Juan.
Zoo Research
The Philadelphia Zoo collaborates on several efforts to help Humboldt penguin. The Zoo supports the annual population census in both Chile and Peru, educational programs in the United States and South America, research into the provision of artificial nest burrows to improve reproductive success in the wild, and the monitoring of fishing industry and penguin interactions to determine the extent of the industry's threat to penguins and to develop ways to mediate this risk. The Humboldt penguin Species Survival Plan, works closely with local researchers to coordinate these conservation projects. Recently, this collaboration has resulted in a new agreement with the Peruvian guano industry to conduct harvests near penguin breeding colonies in such a way that disturbance to the penguins is minimized.
Learn more about penguin research:
Penguin Taxon Advisory Group
Report of the 2000 International Penguin Conference in Chile
Penguin Conservation Assessment and Management Plan
Fun Facts
Humboldt penguins have superb swimming skills, which rivals seals and porpoises.
The wings of the Humboldt penguin have evolved into flippers that propel them through the water, and their feathers are stiff and closely packed to serve as insulation and waterproofing.
Both male and female Humboldt penguins share parental responsibilities; they both participate in incubation and feeding their chicks.
Conservation
Introductions
Animal Lingo
Want More?
Sources:
(1) Philadelphia Zoo staff.
(2) del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., and Sargatal, J., eds. 1992. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 1 Lynx. Barcelona: Edicions.
(3) IUCN 2007. 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 04 January 2008.
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