Researchers with the University of Washington have dug along the coastline of the Galapagos archipelago "condos" for penguins.

The Galapagos penguin is listed as an endangered species and these new homes are designed to give them a fighting chance. The Galapagos penguin faces many dangers such as predators and the beating Galapagos sun. Another goal for these miniture caves are so that they may serve as a breeding ground for the penguins. "Our goal is to increase the population of the Galapagos penguins, and the way to do that is to make sure that when conditions are good, when they are not food challenged, that all of them will be able to breed," said lead researcher Dee Boarsman in a statement. The research team has built 100 nests in close clusters, and 20 further apart after studies showed that some penguins prefer living in isolation. Boersman will return in February to see how the project is progressing but after seeing La Nina ocean conditions, he expects it to bring plenty of food and is hopefull that it will help maintain the penguin population and encourage breeding.