Galapagos Penguins

By Jason

I really wanted to see Galapagos Penguins.  They were the main reason I wanted to come to the Galapagos.

Galapagos Penguins only live in the Galapagos.  They are a little bit bigger than 1 ½ feet and they weigh about 5 ½ pounds.  They are very small.  Also, they are the second smallest species of penguin.

Galapagos penguins are the only penguins that go north of the equator.

Behavior

The penguins stay in the Galapagos.  They eat small fish and sometimes crustaceans.  They eat during the day and go on land at night.

Population

There are only 1,500 Galapagos penguins.  They are endangered.  They are the rarest species of penguins in the world even rarer than Yellow-eyed Penguins which live in New Zealand.  The New Zealand penguins are still pretty rare.

The number of Galapagos penguins can be hurt by El Niño because their food goes farther underwater or farther away.  My sister Jamie wrote about El Niño in her post about sea lions.

Breeding

Galapagos penguins mate for life and probably don’t divorce.  They breed every other year and lay one or two eggs.  The eggs take 38-40 days to hatch with both parents helping out.