Humboldt penguin chicks from the German Zoo Bashny.Net

At the zoo NaturZoo Rheine (Germany), ten pairs of Humboldt penguins laid eggs, eight of them have already had offspring, the administration reports on its website. It is worth noting that the German zoo has been breeding this species of penguins for more than forty years.



Photo: NaturZoo Rheine

This year has been particularly successful, according to wildlife park staff, as they have already hatched eight chicks and are due to have two more soon.

All new parents are engaged in their offspring, so in their enclosure there is noise and gam. “It’s actually very interesting to see adult penguins taking care of their little penguins,” he said. They are very similar to humans in this.



For such a large number of offspring, we should most likely thank the relatively warm winter and the spring that began quickly. Humboldt penguins are native to Peru and Chile, where temperatures are much higher than in Germany.



The Humboldt penguin, or Peruvian penguin (Latin Spheniscus humboldti) refers to flightless seabirds from the order of penguins (Latin Spheniscidae). This penguin has a black back and head, the stomach is white with a black wide ring. On the sides of the head through the forehead and throat are narrow white rings, the so-called “glasses”. The legs and beak are black, the beak has a red base.



Males and females have the same color, but differ in size - females are smaller. Humboldt penguins nest on the rocky coasts of Chile and Peru, where the cold Peruvian current passes, hence another name - the Peruvian penguin. Nests are usually arranged in small burrows, just in holes on the surface of the soil or in rock caves.



Eggs are laid in April-May or September-October, depending on the position of their colony. Despite such an active breeding schedule, their numbers are constantly decreasing, due to changes in the system of ocean currents of the Pacific Ocean, overfishing and loss of familiar coastal habitats. Humboldt penguins are listed by the IUCN as a vulnerable species.

Source: zoopicture.ru