Galapagos Penguin Brooke Arends

Description. The Galapagos penguin is the smallest of warm weathered penguins and stands only 16 to 18 inches tall, weighing only 5 lbs. Found in the Galapagos and Isabela islands. These penguins lay two eggs, often times only one is raised and the parents only mate when there is plenty of food. They eat small fish such as sardines and mullet, depending on the ocean currents to bring fish to their feeding grounds.

How’d it become endangered? The human fishing industry destroys the penguin population. They get snarled in fishing nets, we pollute their waters, blinding them with oil spills. El Nino is the warming of their ocean’s waters, causing the fish they feed on to die therefore lowering the food supply. These penguins are also hunted by animals such as leopard seals, hawks, and even whales.

What affect it has on the environment. Without this animal in the food chain, the amount of small fish, such as sardines, would increase along the equator. Also the number of predators of the penguin would decrease, losing their food supply. These animals don’t have much affect on the environment. They don’t directly have any affect on humans.

What’s being done to protect them? They give the penguins baths after oil spills. Humans aren’t doing much to protect these birds. We still pollute the waters, we still contribute to global warming, and we still don’t realize that these animals will be extinct soon.  What SHOULD be happening to protect them? People should be more aware of what their disposing of, what their putting in the waters.

What happened? These penguins live along the equator line, in the warm weather. Therefore, when El Nino comes, the waters are warmed and their food supply (small fish) are then killed off by the heat. Also the pollution and oil spills contribute to their absence. That’s why the penguins are in the endangered category.

GALLAPAGOS PENGUIN