Landau, January 9, 2026. The Humboldt penguin population has declined sharply in recent years. The causes are bird flu H5N1 and El Niño, but according to Chilean authorities, (small-scale) fishing and destructive construction projects are also to blame. The controversial “Dominga” mining and port project by the Andes Iron company has the potential to cause significant damage to or destroy the most important breeding areas in northern Chile. The Andes Iron company and its “Dominga” project are currently entangled in another bribery scandal.

Landau, December 5, 2025.

In recent years, the Humboldt penguin population has been reduced by environmental pressures such as climate change, overfishing, habitat destruction, and natural events to an extent that has not yet been fully clarified. In 2023, a large number of seabirds breeding in colonies in South America died from the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu. The extent to which Humboldt penguins were reduced by bird flu is unclear, as the dead birds were not examined. The El Niño of 2023/2024 was one of the strongest since records began. Due to a lack of food, Humboldt penguins were unable to breed in large parts of their range in 2023 and 2024.

Coquimbo, Landau, November 21, 2025. Since August, injured animals have been cared for at the marine animal rescue center in Coquimbo, northern Chile. The center is jointly run by the NGO Conservación Humboldt, the Universidad Católica del Norte-UCN (1), Sernapesca (2), and Sphenisco. The project is funded by Frankfurt Zoo, Halle Mountain Zoo, and Dresden Zoo. (See article “Renovation ... completed” from August 8).

La Higuera, October 28, 2025. The second literary competition, “El Archipiélago de Humboldt en 110 Palabras” (1), was officially launched at the Yerba Buena InfoPoint in the southern part of the Humboldt Archipelago (2). The competition is an initiative of the Fundación Sphenisco Chile. The project is supported by the municipality of La Higuera, international organizations such as Sphenisco e.V., the sponsors Rostock Zoo and Ouwehand Zoo Foundation (3), as well as national (4) and local organizations (5).

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.