Penguin Village: Facts About Galapagos Penguins

Galapagos penguins (Spheniscus mendiculus) are only found in the Galapagos Islands and are the only species of penguin in the Northern Hemisphere in the wild with small colonies just north of the equator on Isabela Island. It is believed that the Humboldt Current that brings cold Antarctic water carried them north to the Galapagos Islands.

Galapagos Penguins by Surtrek Tour Operator - Public Domain Image

Description

Galapagos penguins are distinguished from most other species by a thin white stripe that runs from the eye to the chin and a black pattern around their white fronts in an upside down ‘U” shape. It is a similar pattern that the Magellanic penguins also carry but the Galapagos is a smaller bird with a thinner black band around their front.

Adults have a blue-black, head and flippers though as they get older their plumage tends to becomes unkempt and turns towards a dull brown colour. Its beak is longer and thinner than other temperate region species of penguin.

Standing about 19 inches tall and weighing around 6 pounds they are the smallest of the warm climate penguins and along with Magellanic, Humboldt and African, are one of the Banded group (Spheniscus) of penguins. They are not as small as Little Blue penguins or as large as the Yellow-eyed penguin or Brush-tailed penguins such as the Gentoo, Chinstrap, and Adelie penguins.

When they are on land they have to guard against the heat from the strong equatorial sun and have evolved behaviours to help them keep cool. They pant to lose heat by evaporation from the throat and airways and they have also areas of skin underneath their flippers and on their feet to help blood flow to these parts.

Another way they use to cool down is to stand with outstretched flippers, hunching forward to throw a shadow on their feet which can get sunburned. Off course they can also cool down in the ocean which is fed cold water by the Humboldt Current and they spend a lot of time swimming and hunting.

Hunting and Diet

These penguins do not migrate but stay in the temperate Galapagos waters all year round. They hunt mostly sardines, mullet, squid and crustaceans which are often caught using shallow pursuit diving techniques.

Although the weather on land can be hot the seas can be cold and they depend on the cold ocean currents which bring in nutrients and fish for the penguin’s diet. The Galapagos penguin population is known to decline significantly when the El Nino current prevails.

Breeding and Nesting

Galapagos penguins mate for life and build nests in sheltered places such as burrows or crevices in, or under, rocks and boulders. Some pairs have been known to mate twice in a year but this seems to depend on the abundance of food.

The female produces two eggs which both parents take turns at incubating for between five and six weeks. If both chicks hatch the strongest is given preference for food and will probably be the only one to survive.

For around the first thirty days both parents share the duty of guarding and feeding the chick while the other hunts for food. After about two months the chicks will have fledged and developed their adult plumage and will be ready to hunt and look after themselves.

Threats and Predators

In the sea Galapagos penguins are preyed upon by sharks and seals. On land the Galapagos hawk and introduced rats will prey on the chicks or steal eggs.
There biggest threat seems to come from changes in ocean currents. In the early 1980s abnormal El Nino patterns resulted in 70 per cent of penguins being lost because of food shortages.
Though the numbers have risen since many scientists are still concerned and the International Union for Conservation of Nature place Galapagos penguins as Endangered A2bde;B1ab(v)c(iv)+2ab(v)c(iv);C2a(ii)b ver 3.1. They currently have and estimated population in the Galapagos Islands of 1000 pairs.