09

9

Spheniscus humboldti

Penguins are generally believed to be frost resistant, their home is Antarctica. Most visitors are therefore amazed to find Humboldt penguins under the tropical sun of the Pacific coast of Peru. The cold Humboldt Current flowing along the coast from the south makes this possible, It causes an remarkably cool climate and is the reason why penguin can hatch in the tropics.
The first to discover these penguins, Alexander von Humboldt is said to have seen them during his journey to the Americas 1799-1804 around Callao in today’s Peru. And though the have not made it into the Humboldt Forum yet, the endangered species has made it onto a UN stamp.