Humboldt Penguin / Spheniscus humboldti

I have been taking so few photos recently, so am now having to dig into my archives most of the time. The few times I have been out, I have either seen nothing or nothing that I can photograph. I am longing for a day out with tons of things to see and photograph : )

When I visited the Calgary Zoo on 28 September 2014, I called in at the Penguin Plunge and found this Humboldt Penguin having a swim outside. This species is named after the cold water current it swims in, which is itself named after Alexander von Humboldt, an explorer.

"The status of this species is IUCN Red List: Vulnerable. Current Impacts on their numbers are El Niño and La Niña weather patterns, predators, tourism, competition with fisheries, habitat change. Humboldt penguins groom their feathers before breakfast. They rub oil from a gland at the base of the tail into their feathers and the edges of their wings. Humboldts also groom each other. This species digs nesting burrows in thick deposits of seabird guano (droppings)."

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