Birds
Humboldt Penguin
Spheniscus humboldti · also called Peruvian penguin
Living along a bone-dry desert coastline rather than anywhere polar, a Humboldt penguin stays cool thanks entirely to a cold ocean current, nesting in burrows once dug into ancient deposits of accumulated seabird droppings now heavily mined by people.
Overview
The Humboldt penguin, Spheniscus humboldti, is a Vulnerable seabird native to coastal and ocean habitat along the coasts of Peru and Chile in South America. Its unusual desert coastal habitat, dependence on a specific cold ocean current, and vulnerability to periodic warm-water food shortages make it one of the more ecologically distinctive and climate-sensitive penguin species found anywhere in the world.
A penguin that needs no ice at all
Proving that penguins do not require a polar climate to thrive, the Humboldt penguin has built its entire way of life around a cold ocean current running through an otherwise arid desert coastline, a dependency that leaves it acutely vulnerable whenever that current falters.
Status
Vulnerable, with populations declining due to habitat loss from guano mining, periodic food shortages linked to warm-water ocean events, and fishing net entanglement.
Humboldt Penguin: common questions
Why does the Humboldt penguin live somewhere so warm?
This species lives along an arid desert coastline in South America, kept cool not by any polar climate but by a cold ocean current flowing along the coast, which also supports the fish it depends on for food.
Why did guano mining harm the Humboldt penguin?
This species historically nested in burrows dug into thick deposits of accumulated seabird droppings, and heavy mining of these deposits for fertiliser has reduced the amount of suitable nesting habitat available to the species.
What is the Humboldt penguin named after?
This species is named after the cold ocean current that flows along its native coastline, a current itself named after a nineteenth-century explorer and naturalist who studied the region.
Why does the Humboldt penguin sometimes suffer sudden population crashes?
This species is particularly vulnerable to periodic warm-water events that disrupt the cold current supporting its fish prey, causing sharp, temporary population crashes when food becomes scarce.