La Serena, October 18, 2025. The Humboldt penguin played an important role in the Chilean pavilion at Expo 2025. Chile was represented at the Expo by its mascot, “Chiri-Chan.” The character was a good representation of the penguin species typical of the Humboldt Current. (2)

Landau, October 11, 2025. On October 3, the Yerba Buena InfoPoint was opened (see “InfoPoint ... Opening on October 9”). With this information point, the Yerba Buena Group aims to contribute to environmental education and protect the Humboldt Archipelago with its coastal fauna and flora. The information center was established by the Osorio family and the Yerba Buena Group with the support of Sphenisco Chile, the Frankfurt Zoo, and the municipality of La Higuera. The 2.5-meter-tall Pilpilén sculptures (1) encourage visitors to stop and learn about the Humboldt Archipelago and the ecosystem in Yerba Buena. (2)

Landau, October 9, 2025. As planned, the Yerba Buena Group has established the “Humboldt Archipelago” InfoPoint on the road to Chungungo (municipality of La Higuera). Its landmarks are 2.5-meter-tall pilpilén (1) sculptures that “force” passers-by to stop and invite them to read the information and take a seat to enjoy the special landscape. The municipality of La Higuera is proud of the information point about local natural treasures and invited citizens and political leaders to the inauguration on October 3, 2025. Sphenisco Chile published the following report on the opening on its website (2). For the texts of the information boards "The Humboldt Archipelago“ and ”Predominant Ecosystem in Yerba Buena,“ see the article ”InfoPoint Yerba Buena – Info Information."

Landau, 18 September 2025.
The newspaper El Mostrador (1) published a statement by scientists from Chile and around the world on August 4, 2025, urging the authorities to definitively reject the Dominga mining and port project.

Landau, 3rd of September 2025. At the beginning of August, the renovation of the marine animal rescue center in Coquimbo was completed. The care of injured marine animals is jointly provided by the NGO Conservación Humboldt, the Universidad Católica del Norte-UCN (1), Sernapesca (2), and Sphenisco. The project is supported by Frankfurt Zoo, Halle Mountain Zoo, and Dresden Zoo. (See article “Renovation ... completed” from 8th of August).

La Serena, 11th of August 2025. At the beginning of August, the Pedro Pablo Muñoz School in the municipality of La Higuera hosted a ceremony to mark the launch of the textbook Dando valor al Archipiélago de Humboldt (1). The publication was created by teachers for teachers with the aim of teaching pupils about the natural and cultural wealth of this globally unique region.

The event was attended by pupils, parents, teachers from the school and local and regional representatives from public authorities. The pupils performed pieces of music, adding a special touch to the day.

Landau, 10 August 2025. Since 2021, a team of researchers led by Dr. Alejandro Simeone (1) has been conducting investigations on the population, breeding success and foraging of the Humboldt penguin in Chile on behalf of Sphenisco. The project is funded by the Karlsruhe Zoo Conservation Foundation, Dresden Zoo and the Hagenbeck Zoo Association. On these pages, the multi-year project was repeatedly reported. (2)

Landau, August 9, 2025. Since 2009, environmentalists and scientists have been demanding an effective protection of the Humboldt Archipelago in northern Chile. For just as long, the communities of La Higuera and Freirina have been proposing a protected area based on scientific and expert opinions. The proposal was also supported by the regional governments of Coquimbo and Atacama. Three presidents—Bachelet, Piñera, and Boric—have approved the Área de Conservación de Múltiples Usos - ACMU (1). In the last, unanimous decision of the Council of Ministers in August 2023, the technical opinions also took into account the bi-regional nature of the area, which is located in the Coquimbo and Atacama regions. The declaration of the protected area was prepared with workshops and citizen surveys in the municipalities of La Higuera and Freirina.

Landau, August 8, 2025. In May of this year, the Universidad Católica del Norte-UCN (1), Sernapesca (2) in the Coquimbo region, Sphenisco, and the NGO Conservación Humboldt decided to renovate the marine animal rescue center on the university grounds and operate it jointly. Sphenisco committed to covering the costs of the renovation and operation for one year. The project is supported by Frankfurt Zoo, Halle Mountain Zoo, and Dresden Zoo.