Experience a beak-to-nose encounter with our Humboldt penguins. Watch them waddle around and learn more about these fascinating Peruvian birds!
Araya loves herring and can eat herring as big as her head!
Araya and Lou are a bonded pair.
Blanca is the largest female in the colony.
She loves to learn and play! Our caretakers say she’s pretty eager to investigate new enrichment that is put into the pool.
Blanca and PJ Jr. are a mated pair.
Burgess is our most active bird!
You’re likely to see her swimming in the pool.
Burgess and Tux are a mated pair.
Desi is the one of the largest penguins in our colony!
He’s currently a bachelor with a newfound love of the water. He spends the vast majority of his day in the pool getting exercise, cleaning himself and foraging for fish.
DJ’s “real name” is Peruchito!
At 30-years-old, she is the oldest in the colony.
She suffers from arthritis and receives a daily Assisi loop treatment to ease her discomfort.
DJ and Niño are a mated pair.
Gannon came to the Aquarium of Niagara in the Spring of 2020 from the Philadelphia Zoo as part of the Species Survival Plan for Humboldt penguins.
Gannon was identified as a positive genetic match with Ignacio. The two are now a mated pair.
Gannon loves to swim and you will often find her in the pool!
Ignacio’s nickname is Iggy.
He may be one of the smallest male penguins in the colony, but he has one of the biggest appetites!
Iggy’s an adventurous eater who will readily eat a large variety of fish.
Jules is one of our newest residents! She and her brother, Smitty, hatched in April 2020. They were the first penguin chicks hatched at the Aquarium in 14 years!
Their parents are PJ, Jr. and Blanca.
Jules is small but mighty. She’s very curious and loves to interact with guests through the glass.
Lou is a big boy who is very territorial.
He and Araya are a mated pair.
Before Smitty and Jules were hatched in April 2020, Lou and Araya had the last successful hatching at the Aquarium of Niagara.
Their chick, Chile, was hatched in 2016. Sadly, he passed away unexpectedly in early 2020.
Mario is a love bird!
He is smitten by his mate Monty and can often be found swimming by Monty in the water or calling out for her from the beach.
Montaña’s nickname is Monty.
She is particularly curious and will sneak up behind the caretakers to try and get some extra lake smelt.
Monty and Mario are a mated pair
Niño came to the Aquarium from the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, K.S. as part of the Species Survival Plan through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
Niño is named after the “El Niño events” that have greatly threatened and reduced the Humboldt penguin populations in their native environment along the South American coastlines of Peru and Chile.
Niño and DJ are a mated pair.
PJ Jr. is one of our largest penguins, but he is a pretty quiet presence in the colony.
He likes to spend time swimming and with his mate Blanca.
He is the proud father of the Aquarium’s two newest penguin chicks, Jules and Smitty.
Smitty is one of our newest residents! He and his sister, Jules, hatched in April 2020. They were the first penguin chicks hatched at the Aquarium in 14 years!
Their parents are PJ, Jr. and Blanca.
Smitty takes after his father in size — he’s a big boy! As a juvenile, he’s very curious and playful, and often investigates objects with his beak!
Tux is the most vocal bird in the colony!
You can often hear him loudly calling out for his mate, Burgess, when she’s swimming in the pool.
