Natural History Wanderings

Monga Bay reported

• The Humboldt penguin is the only penguin species to breed in Peru, inhabiting the country’s coastal deserts. But since 2022, the species’ has been under pressure from the spread of avian influenza, followed by El Niño.
• Between 2022 and 2025, the population of Humboldt penguins has dropped by two-thirds across 34 islands and peninsulas on the Peruvian coast.
• Experts monitoring the species say penguins are abandoning their nests as they already feel the impacts of the upcoming El Niño episode, which changes temperatures in coastal waters and diminishes the amount of prey fish available.
• Scientists are asking both the national government and the IUCN to revise the species’ status to reflect the increasing threats and boost conservation efforts.

Read more at Peru’s only penguin species at risk from upcoming El Niño and bird flu, experts warn