Shedding Light on Penguins - Studies by Milwaukee County Zoo staff in Chile provide insights into helping Humboldt penguins survive.
In conjunction with the Milwaukee County Zoo’s long-term field studies of Humboldt penguin ecology in Chile, the Zoo has been coordinating funding for annual population censuses of the wild penguins in Chile since 1994. Annual censuses not only provide information on the size of the wild population, but also allow us to detect trends in population growth or decline, and population movements, particularly in reference to El Nino weather patterns. This information is critical to understanding the behavior and activity of wild Humboldt penguins.
Zoological Society of Milwaukee (ZSM) funding has paid the expenses for Chilean ornithologists to survey the Chilean coast during the penguin molting season to provide accurate estimates of existing penguin populations. The ZSM also has supported the Zoo’s broader study on Humboldt penguins since it started in 1994.
Recent efforts include installing low-cost artificial burrows and studying how to protect the penguins from getting caught in commercial fishing nets.
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Animal(s) being conserved/studied: Humboldt penguins
Alive issue: Fall 2001
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