Meet The Galápagos Penguin

STATUS: Endangered
POPULATION: ~2000

Galapagos penguins, true to their name, are restricted to the Galapagos Islands and they are the only penguins found north of the equator.

These creatures depend on the cold water that travels through the Humboldt current from Antarctica. They live in caves and crevices of the coastal lava rock and these penguins are able to survive here because of the unique biogeography of the Galapagos Islands. The cold water currents help to cool the sea surface temperature and it also brings the nutrient-rich water to the island which help other species thrive, on which galapagos penguins feed and rely upon. Their diet mainly consists of small fish, like sardines and mullets.

When the water temperature drops below 24 Celsius, it provides enough food for the penguins to stimulate breeding. Other than this temperature limitation, galapagos penguins can breed year round. They tend to bond with one partner for their entire life and when mating, they lay two eggs, four days apart from one another, which then take about 35-40 days to hatch.

Galapagos penguins are one of the smallest penguins in the world, averaging around 50 cm (20 in) in height and about 2.5 kilos (5.5 lbs).

What’s the danger?

With an estimated population of less than 2000 galapagos penguins left in the wild, they continue to remain endangered due to multiple threatening factors.

The first threat is the low water temperature which needs to be cold enough to obtain nutrients from the penguins’ food sources necessary for their survival. The temperatures drop thanks to the northern Humboldt current, and is combatted around Christmas time when the sea level temperatures can rise again due to El Niño weather patterns, sometimes rising all the way to 28 C (82 F).

The warmer water is so nutrient-poor that species have trouble surviving in it, species that penguins rely upon to feed themselves. In 1982 the El Niño was so drastic that 77% of the Galapagos penguins died of starvation. Even without a devastating effect like this, El Niño usually postpones breeding season entirely as the penguins don’t have enough nutrients to sustain the healthy development of their eggs. They also struggle to keep their body and their eggs cool. The El Niño effects during 2015–2016 were also very harsh, resulting in only one juvenile being observed at the yearly census.

Besides the threat of higher temperatures, Galapagos penguins can also be a victim of bycatch – an accidental capture in fishing gear. Moreover, there have been invasive species introduced to the region causing more challenges for the penguins’ survival. Cats, dog and rats can be a danger to juvenile penguins, as can newly introduced mosquitos to the region which spread avian flu, a virus that is particularly deadly to Galapagos penguins and its close relatives.

ENVIRONMENTAL RELATIONS

Galapagos penguins rely on eating small fish and other marine invertebrates in the area. These other species play an integral role in controlling the galapagos penguin population, contributing to a balanced ecosystem. Galapagos Penguins also play a positive role in the area, as they are one of the most important factors of the ecotourism in the Galapagos Islands.

Galapagos penguins are talented swimmers. Their underwater speed can reach up to 35km/h (21.5 mph) when hunting!

How can we help?

The Galapagos Conservancy has a special program to increase the Galapagos penguin population through artificial nests. In 2010 alone, 120 nests were put into shady, prime penguin habitat locations, and since the program began, nearly a quarter of all breeding activity observed has been in these constructed nests.

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