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Action for the Wild Charity no 1105621 |
| Latest News |
| Punta San Juan Conservation Project - update for 2009 Posted: 08/02/2010 |
 Colchester Zoo’s charity Action for the Wild has been supporting the Punta San Juan Conservation project to protect Humboldt penguins in Peru since 2006. In 2006, Action for the Wild donated over £5,000 to this project and we have been continuing to fundraise for the project ever since.For 2009 the project has carried out two main activities, a census of Humboldt penguins at major sites around Peru and a penguin health assessment. The current distribution of Humboldt penguins extends from La Foca Island in Peru to Puñihuil Island in Chile. Censuses have been carried out since 1999 during the moulting season to determine penguin numbers. The main objective of this activity is to determine the current number of penguins along the Peruvian coast, and compare the results to counts made in previous years. During 2009, 7111 Humboldt penguins were counted, and results show that there has been an increase in penguin numbers and this has occurred over the past 10 years. The penguin health assessment has been running for 3 years, and has generated some excellent data. In 2009, 78 adult penguins and 17 chicks were sampled and examined. The project also recaptured 5 penguins that were caught in 2007 and 7 from 2008. In total since 2007, 248 adult penguins and 38 chicks have been examined and have had samples collected. All penguins captured are fitted with a transponder microchip and toe tags to aid in their identification. In addition to gathering more data on the on-going veterinary project, the penguin health research has expanded in 3 new directions for 2009. • Samples were collected for new research on environmental contamination and toxicant exposure. • Samples were collected for a new population genetics project. • Blood samples and swabs were taken from 12 domestic chickens in Marcona. These will be evaluated for the potential risk of disease transmission from domestic poultry to marine avifauna. The total penguin population at Punta San Juan remains high for 2009 and data is consistent to that of previous years. However 2009 saw a decrease in nesting penguins and chick numbers. Water temperature and prey availability appears to be consistent compared with recent years, but climatic conditions are different and this could be having an adverse impact on penguin reproduction. A film crew joined the team at Punta San Juan in 2009 and filmed footage of the wildlife in the area, the current and potential threats to the ecosystem and the conservation efforts currently underway. The health assessment project was featured heavily in this footage. The project plans to analyse all of its data from 2009 and plans to release the results in several publications during 2010. The end of 2009 saw some positive news for Humboldt penguins in Peru, with incorporation of the Peruvian guano sites into the Peruvian Protected Areas System. The hope is that focus will now shift from guano extraction to conservation, and this will greatly help protect the Humboldt penguin populations around Peru. Picture Humboldt penguins, Punta San Juan, copyright M Adkesson. |
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Registered office as above. A charity registered at the Charity Commission
No. 1105621 Trustees A C Downing, S D Knuckey, L J Spurgeon, P R Johnson