Above one of the many penguins of Galapagos islands we saw on our Galapagos cruise. This particular penguin was standing tall at Elizabeth Bay and can be enjoyed without having to embark on a cold Antarctica Cruise.

It’s estimated that there are about 4000 penguins on the islands of Fernandina and Isabela Islands and these Galapagos Penguins are the only penguins that can be found above the Equator.

But the Galapagos Penguin is not the only penguin that lives far away from the south pole ice: I saw blue-eyed and yellow-eyed penguins on my journey to the South Island of New Zealand (in the little town of Oamaru to be exact).

History of the penguins of the Galapagos islands

Galapagos Penguin most likely are descendants of the Humboldt Penguins.

Humboldt Penguins live in colonies along the western coast of South America, and most likely some of these penguins followed the cold waters of the Humboldt Current and reached the Galapagos Islands.

The Galapagos Penguins look quite similar to the Humboldt Penguins, just that they have fewer white feathers and are generally smaller.

Most likely they evolved smaller due to a limited food (fish) supply in the Cromwell current surrounding the Galapagos Islands.

And because it’s warmer on Galapagos than on Antarctica, less feathers are needed to insulated their bodies against freezing weather conditions. On the other hand, Galapagos Penguins don’t molt once but twice, most likely to replace their features damaged by the hot sun.

Again due to the limited food supply on Galapagos, these penguins hatch their two eggs between 2 to 4 days apart by laying and incubating their eggs at different times.

Due to the tropical heat, Galapagos penguins hunt during the day to keep cool in the water. They are also the only penguins that pant.

Although they haven’t much natural predators, due to the limited and unpredictable food supply the penguins of Galapagos islands are on the list of endangered species.

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Galapagos penguins are the smallest penguins in the world. These Galapagos Penguins are unique, as they are the only penguins living and breeding on the equator. The Galapagos penguin must have followed the cold Humboldt current to reach warm Galapagos.

Snorkel with Galapagos Penguins

If you love both penguins and snorkeling, then Galapagos is the ideal place to come up and close with the Galapagos penguins. Don’t be surprised if the Galapagos penguin starts "chasing" you when snorkeling in stead you chasing him!

What makes a Galapagos Penguin standing out?

As with all penguins, they don’t fly in the air, but they use the flying movement under water, to swim around in the warm waters of Galapagos looking for fish.

But they stand out by standing, or more precisely by walking. On land, Galapagos penguins walk more upright than other birds. This is  because the legs of the Galapagos Penguin are placed more backwards. Penguins also move by hopping around with both feet, next time you visit Galapagos, have a look at the Galapagos penguins hopping outside the waves onto a rock. Quite amazing skills!

What is most unusual but understandable is the breeding of the Galapagos penguin. Unlike the penguins in colder areas that need to follow the seasons, Galapagos penguins can breed to up to 3 times a year. 2 eggs are laid and both parent Galapagos penguins share in the incubation. Yet only one of the young penguins will usually make it into an adult Galapagos penguin.

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