Humboldt Penguins

  
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Conservation

Woodland Park Zoo’s mission is wildlife conservation. Many animals’ habitats around the world are disappearing, and the Humboldt penguin is no different. The zoo works hard to educate people about conservation and saving animals.

Humboldt penguins are endangered, and if nothing is done, they could be extinct in the wild in only a few decades. There are a couple reasons for their disappearance.

Remember how the penguins live in guano? Well, surprisingly, the guano is valuable to humans as well as penguins. It is a very popular fertilizer, and people come into the penguin habitat to harvest guano and then sell it. This has become a big problem, because the guano is disappearing faster than it can be replaced. Without this guano, the penguins have nowhere to nest.

Fishing is also a problem. Because the Humboldt Current holds so many fish, it is a very popular place for commercial fishermen. The fishermen catch too much fish, leaving little food for the penguins.

Some laws have been passed to help the penguins. Since 1995, the country of Chile has banned hunting or capturing them. And Peru has guano reserves — people cannot harvest guano in these places. These are helping but more must be done. You can visit our How You Can Help page to see how you can help penguins and other threatened animals.