Scientific name: Spheniscus humboldti
IUCN status: Vulnerable
Habitat: Pacific coast of South America,
offshore islands of Chile and Peru
Diet: Carnivore – anchovy, sardines,
other small fish, squid
Penguins cannot fly – their ‘wings’
have become narrow bony flippers for swimming
underwater. Humboldt’s penguins used to be hunted
for their skins, meat and oil
from the fat layer under the skin but now they are threatened
by commercial fishing reducing their food supply, sea
pollution, and increasing water temperatures. They dig
underground burrows to shelter from the heat and to keep
their eggs and chicks safe.
Did you know? One of the first threats
to Humboldt’s penguins was ‘poo’! Guano
– the dried droppings of seabirds– was collected
for fertiliser in the 19th century, disturbing and destroying
penguin nesting sites.
