Where’s the snow and ice?  Not all penguins live in the cold and ice-covered Antarctic.  Many species live on the warmer coasts of South America, Africa and Australia. Our penguins are Magellanic Penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) from South America.  In the wild they are able to live at temperatures reaching 90 degrees F. or more.  To help our penguins cope with El Paso’s hot summer days our exhibit includes shade covers, overhangs and burrows, chilled water and air-conditioned indoor spaces.

The breeding season in Argentina and Chile for most Magellanic Penguins is from September to April.  Once their chicks mature and the breeding season ends they will migrate 2000 miles north for the winter (summer here in El Paso) to the warmer climates of Peru and Brazil.  During the winter months of May to August they spend most of their time foraging for food in the upper layers of the ocean hundreds of miles off the coast.  

Magellanic Penguins live in sandy areas near the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans that are covered with grasses and small bushes. Magellanic Penguins are monogamous coming together with the same partner year after year.  They will nest in burrows where they will incubate two white eggs. Magellanic Penguins are small penguins growing up to two and a half feet tall and weighing up to fifteen pounds.   Their chicks grow fast reaching adult size in one month!

Photos by Wikimedia Creative Commons
Cover – Falkland Islands
Feature – Don Faulkner
Top and Bottom – Liam Quinn