Galapagos Penguins - Islands birdlife and nature

The Galápagos Penguins congregate along the rocky lava shores of Isabela, Fernandina, Santiago, and Bartolome, islands cooled off by both the Cromwell and Humboldt currents. The Humboldt Current is the one that brought them all the way up to these tropical latitudes. Look carefully for crevices in the rocky lava shorelines for penguins nesting inside them. Small lava tubes are favorite places too.

Dare to see a torpedo in the water? Jump in with the penguins and watch these graceful, but rocket fast birds, fly through the water like an arrow.

This is the smallest of the warm weather penguins. It stands only 16 to 18 inches (40 to 45 cm) tall and weighs only 5 pounds (2 to 2.5 kg). Galapagos penguins have a thin white band that runs under their chin. They have a black upside down horseshoe shape around their belly. The Galapagos penguin may look like the Magellanic but it is smaller and the black markings on the belly are thinner.  They are the penguins that live the farthest north.

These penguins use burrows and two eggs are laid. They only mate and breed when there is plenty of food. Often only one chick is raised. Both parents tend the eggs for 38 to 40 days. Chicks are cared for by both male and female. The chick is guarded for about 30 days after hatching. The chicks molts, get their adult feathers, and are on their own in about 60 to 65 days.

One of the main problems for the Galapagos penguin is keeping cool. Living close to the equator it gets over 100 degrees F (38 degrees Celsius) during the daytime. They keep cool by swimming and hunting for food in the cold water of the Cromwell Current during the day. During the cool nights they sleep and nest on the land. They hold their flippers out to help the heat escape their bodies. They protect their feet from getting sunburned by holding their flippers over their feet when on land.

Galapagos penguins eat mostly small fish such as mullet and sardines. They are dependent on the ocean currents to bring fish to their feeding grounds. Server weather from El Nino caused a severe shortage of food about 20 years ago. At that time over 70% of the Galapagos penguins died. Since then their numbers have increased but many scientist believe this species to be endangered. It is reported that there are about 800 breeding pairs left in the world.