The Humboldt penguin population along the central coast of Chile has seen a dramatic decline, making them one of the most vulnerable among the world’s 18 penguin species and putting them at risk of extinction, experts warn.
Last year, scientists surveyed two islands off the central Chilean coast and detected 842 breeding pairs or active nests. This year, they found just one breeding pair.
Paulina Arce, a veterinarian specializing in penguins, reported that penguin populations on all surveyed islands either decreased or remained stagnant.
“This could lead to an even more drastic scenario, which could be the extinction of the species,” Arce said.
Humboldt penguins (Spheniscus humboldti) inhabit colonies along the Pacific coasts of Chile and Peru. Named for their use of the cold Humboldt Current, these flightless birds can weigh up to 5 kg (11 pounds) and measure up to 70 cm (2 feet 3 inches) tall when adults.
Diego Penaloza, president of the Safari Conservation Foundation, identified the primary threats to wild penguins as marine pollution, lack of pet supervision, and disturbance of nesting sites.
Additionally, avian flu, exacerbated by the El Niño weather phenomenon, has severely impacted penguin populations and other wildlife. Javiera Meza, head of Biodiversity Conservation at the national forestry office Conaf, noted that these factors have caused Humboldt penguin reproduction rates to plummet to nearly zero.
“It was the avian flu plus the El Niño phenomenon that shifted all the food towards the southern zone, and therefore, in the entire northern Chile, reproduction dropped to almost zero levels, and on top of that, many penguins died,” Meza said. “It was like the perfect storm.”