Moody Gardens Aquarium in Galveston has new residents—a flock of Humboldt penguins whose normal range is as far north as the Equator, where temperatures are much warmer than we associate with penguins.
In fact, the 10 Humboldts are the aquarium’s second penguin feature; there’s already a habitat for South Atlantic penguins, the ones who inhabit the colder climates going down to the Antarctic.
Despite their ability to live in warmer places along the Humboldt current, for which they are named, they are a threatened species. The aquarium’s seal-and-penguin curator, Diane Olsen, said the Humboldts add a new dimension: “We knew we wanted to add another penguin species with this renovation, specifically a warm-climate penguin so that we could take the birds outside of their habitat to interact with guests. We can take the Humboldts outside of their exhibit to do keeper chats with the birds so that guests can learn more about them and get an up close view.”
