There are 20 Humboldt penguins at the Zoo: 6 males, 13 females, and 1 unsexed chick.
Loverboy: Male, hatched on March 17, 1989 at Sea World, San Diego. He came to Philadelphia on October 14, 1993. He has a pink band on his right flipper.
Lemonhead: Female, hatched on December 22, 1990 at Sea World, San Diego. She came to Philadelphia on October 14, 1993. She has a yellow band on her left flipper.
Winkie: Female, hatched at the Philadelphia Zoo on May 12, 1996. She does not have a band on either of her flippers.
Mutato: Female, hatched at the Philadelphia Zoo on March 12, 1997. She has a green-pink-green band on her left flipper.
Emperor: Male, hatched at the Philadelphia Zoo on April 6, 2000. He has a blue-pink band on this right flipper.
Otis: Male, hatched at the Philadelphia Zoo on May 28, 2001. He has a blue-white band on his right flipper.
Little Bird Junior (LBJ): Female, hatched at the Philadelphia Zoo on May 31, 2001. She has a yellow-white band on her left flipper.
Calfred: Female, hatched at the Philadelphia Zoo on April 18, 2002. She has a yellow-pink band on her left flipper.
Shamrock: Male, hatched at the Philadelphia Zoo on March 17, 2009. He has a green-white-green band on his right flipper.
Jamaican Me Crazy: Male, hatched at the Philadelphia Zoo on April 9, 2009. He has a yellow-green-orange band on his right flipper.
Tequila: Female, hatched at the Philadelphia Zoo on January 11, 2010. She has a yellow-green band on her left flipper.
Margherita: Female, hatched at the Philadelphia Zoo on January 26, 2011. She has a black-yellow-black band on her left flipper.
Tortuga: Female, hatched on December 1, 2009 at the Saint Louis Zoo. She came to Philadelphia on April 4, 2012. She has a blue-green-blue band on her left flipper.
Fausto: Male, hatched on April 22, 2007 at the Akron Zoo in Ohio. He came to Philadelphia on April 5, 2012. He has a black-gray band on this right flipper.
Belleza: Female, hatched on July 22, 2009 at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, New York. She has an orange-purple band on her left flipper.
We also have four unnamed penguins:
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Female, hatched at the Philadelphia Zoo on April 13, 2000. She has a pink band on her left flipper.
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Female, hatched at the Philadelphia Zoo on April 7, 2012. She has a green-black-green band on her left flipper.
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Female, hatched at the Philadelphia Zoo on April 10, 2012. She has a purple band on her left wing.
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Female, hatched at the Philadelphia Zoo on April 15, 2012. She has a red band on her left wing.
Finally, we have a brand new chick! It hatched on May 1st to Tequila and Fausto. Be sure to stop by to congratulate the new parents!
The Humboldt penguin is mostly blackish-gray in color with a white breast. The adults have a black horseshoe shaped band on the breast and a white head stripe. They are between 26 and 28 inches long and weigh 8-13 pounds. Males are slightly larger than females. The Humboldt penguin has a strong and powerful bill that is black with a gray transverse bar and a hooked tip. Their flipper is a modified wing that lacks flight feathers. When on land they look ungainly, but in the water they are amazing streamlined swimmers.
Humboldt penguins nest on islands or on rocky stretches of mainland coast, especially in areas with cliffs.
Longevity
Humboldt penguins live an average of 10 years but birds in captivity can live longer than 20 years.
Reproduction
The penguins breed in large colonies known as rookeries. They use their feet to excavate burrows or nest in caves or natural crevices. Their nests are lined with feathers and are constructed by the male. They will breed any time of year, and females usually lay a clutch of two or rarely three eggs. The eggs are laid about three days apart. Incubation is 40 days and is done by both parents. Both parents also feed the chicks by regurgitation. One of the largest known breeding colonies is found at Punta San Juan, Peru.
Behavior
Humboldt penguins are intensely social and gregarious and are usually found in groups. They have superb swimming skills, which rivals seals and porpoises.
Adaptations
The wings of the Humboldt penguin have evolved into flippers that propel them through the water. Their stiff, close-packed feathers overlap for better insulation and water proofing, and their bodies are highly streamlined to ease their passage through water.
Conservation Status
On the 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the Humboldt penguin is listed as Vulnerable.
To learn more about the conservation efforts at the Philadelphia Zoo, click here.