Galapagos Penguins
Scientific Name: Spheniscus Mendiculus 

The Galapagos penguins live farther north than any other penguin. They are a warm weather penguin, living near the equator west of South America. They are the smallest of the warm weather penguins. When they are full grown they will be about 45 cm tall and will weigh about 2.5 kg. Galapagos penguins have a narrow stripe of white feathers under their chins and a black stripe of feathers that look like an upside down horseshoe on their white chest.

Galapagos penguins build very simple nests near the shore. They use burrows or holes or crevices in the volcanic rock of the island where they live. Eggs may be laid any time of year when there is enough food, but it is most common to see them from May to January. When eggs are laid there are usually two however, only the second one survives to hatch.

The male and female take turns caring for the egg, which takes about 40 days to hatch. This is known as incubation. Once the chick is hatched, the parents will take turns staying with the chick, caring for it, and feeding it; this is called brooding. This will last for about 30 days. The parent that is not taking care of the egg or chick is hunting for food.

When the chicks are about 65 days old, the downy baby feathers fall out and are replaced by adult feathers. This is called molting. When molting is complete the young penguin will go to sea to hunt for its own food.

One problem that the Galapagos penguins have to deal with is staying cool. The temperature where they live can be over 100° F during the day. They spend much of their time swimming and hunting for food in the ocean. The ocean surrounding the Galapagos Islands is cold water. When they are on land they will hold their flippers out to help stay cool. They will also shade their feet with their flippers to protect them from sunburn. At night it is cooler so they sleep and nest on the ground.

Galapagos penguins rely on the cold water ocean currents to bring the kinds of food they like to eat. They eat small fish like sardines and mullet. The ocean currents do not flow normally there is not enough food for the penguins to eat. In the past many penguins have died because of lack of food.