Humboldt Penguins (Spheniscus humboldti) in the Northern Hemisphere

Abstract

Abstract Penguins, Southern Hemisphere birds, were introduced to the Northern Hemisphere several times in the 1930s. None of the four species introduced became established but some individuals survived for at least a decade. Humboldt Penguins (Spheniscus humboldti) were observed in waters off the west coast of North America several times in the 1970s and 1980s and one was caught in a fishing net in Alaska in 2002. Penguins theoretically might be able to swim to suitable habitat in the Northern Hemisphere, but we argue the most likely explanation for their arrival in the Pacific Northwest was by fishing boat.