| Location: |
Peru |
| Project Managers: |
Michael Macek, Dr. Jeffrey Bonner |
| Species: |
Humboldt penguin |
| Priority: |
High |
Background
The Humboldt Penguin is found only along the rugged Pacific coast of Peru and Chile. Although most people think of penguins as cold weather birds, most live in temperate or even tropical habitats. The Humboldt penguin lives where one of the earth’s driest deserts meets one of the coldest ocean currents. In Punta San Juan, Peru, the continental shelf comes very close to the coast line creating an upwelling of cold nutrient rich water which provide a fertile environment for the Anchoveta, the primary food source of the penguin and many other sea birds and marine mammals. For this reason the Humboldt penguin and many other sea birds have for centuries chosen Punta San Juan as a breeding site. This has produced some of the most fertile guano fields in the world. The guano also provides a soft substrate for the Humboldt penguins to dig their nesting burrows. For this reason approximately one half of the entire Peruvian Humboldt penguin population calls Punta San Juan home. Due to uncontrolled commercial fishing and guano harvesting for use as fertilizer, the Humboldt penguin population has declined significantly in the past 20 – 30 years. Today the Humboldt penguin is listed as “Vulnerable to Extinction” by the Red List of the IUCN.
St. Louis Interest
The Saint Louis Zoo has been home to Humboldt penguins since 1977. In 2003 the Penguin & Puffin Coast opened and provided a new home for our Humboldt penguins. Our penguins are part a North American population that is genetically and demographically managed by the Humboldt penguin Species Survival Plan. In 2001, Bird Curator Michael Macek participated as an international observer to the first sustainable harvest of guano in Punta San Juan. In 2004, staff members participated in the biannual census of the entire Peruvian Humboldt penguin population.
Goal
To facilitate the designation of Punta San Juan as a Marine Reserve under the Peruvian Protected Areas System and secure the future of the Humboldt penguin in Punta San Juan.
Conservation Science
The center will strive to secure the short-term funding necessary to maintain adequate personnel to continue the collection of biological data and protect Punta San Juan. Support will also be provided to improve Peruvian fisheries management and increase awareness of marine conservation issues. Finally the center will facilitate the incorporation of Punta San Juan as a Marine Reserve and ensure the proper implementation of the new reserve.
Partners
The Brookfield Zoo
The Philadelphia Zoo
AZA Humboldt Penguin SSP
AZA Penguin Taxon Advisory Group
Colchester Zoo
Woodland Park Zoo
Sedgwick County Zoo
Centro Para La Sostenibilidad Ambiental
Harewood Bird Garden
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