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Peru: Project Punta San Juan

Conservation at a Glance

• Humboldt penguins feed in the cold, rich waters of the Humboldt Current off the Pacific coast of South America.
• When on shore, penguins, along with other seabirds like gulls, terns, cormorants, boobies, and pelicans, produce huge deposits of droppings, or guano.
• Guano is a valuable source of nitrogen and is “mined” from seabird roosting and nesting areas and sold as fertilizer.
• Uncontrolled guano mining can destroy important seabird nesting sites and endanger seabird populations.
• The Philadelphia Zoo has joined with the St. Louis Zoo and the Brookfield Zoo to support Project Punta San Juan, which employs wildlife biologists who monitor penguins and other seabirds in this area.  Punta San Juan holds the largest penguin breeding colony in Peru.  The Zoo has twice sent volunteers to monitor guano mining – in 2001 and 2007.  During the 2007 trip, Zoo staff also worked with local educators to help develop an education program about wildlife for the community.
• In addition, the project funded the maintenance of a wall around the penguin nesting areas to protect the birds from predators like foxes and feral dogs and cats.
• Project biologists work with local residents and the Peruvian government to educate them about the harmful effects of over-fishing to the penguin, seabird, and marine mammal communities of Punta San Juan.