Edenkoben July 6, 2023

It was very difficult for us to attend this year's general meeting. Until now we have always been looking forward to the reunion with like-minded people and to the reports and exchange of ideas about our projects. However, the death of Gabriele weighed like a dark shadow over our meeting. We are mourning with Werner and our pain continues. With uneasy feeings we entered the room of the zoo school we had come to love and where we founded our association fifteen years ago and elected Gabriele as our first chairwoman.

Landau, 5th June 2023

C H I L E

+++Research für Survival+++
All breeding islands of the Humboldt penguins in Chile have been closed since december due to avian flu. Unfortunately, this also has an impact on research work. Thus, the 2nd monitoring of breeding success on Choros Island had to be terminated prematurely in December. The foraging surveys planned for June cannot be carried out either. 

Landau April 19, 2023

We would like to thank you sincerely for the many expressions of condolence, sympathy and friendship that we received after the death of Gabriele Knauf. Also the amount of donations to Sphenisco, which had been asked for in lieu of flowers at the funeral, was overwhelming. A big thank you to all donors! We are touched and grateful to have received so much support, which will help to continue the work for the protection of the Humboldt Penguin in the spirit and memory of Gabriele Knauf with all our strength.

Werner Knauf, Dr. Christina Schubert Klaus Blumer

Landau, 13^th April 2023

CHILE

+++Continuation and expansion of the "Research for Survival" project+++

Currently, the head of the research project, Dr Alejandro Simeone, is working on the final report on the population, breeding success and foraging of Humboldt penguins in the Humboldt Archipelago. The results from the years 2021 and 2022 are significant, provide in part completely new insights into Humboldt penguins and are also politically relevant (see reports on this page). In consultation with the researchers, Sphenisco not only plans to continue the work for another 2 years until 2024, but even to extend it. In this way, the temporal and spatial overlap of the foraging activities of Humboldt penguins with fishing activities. be analysed. This analysis of existing and future data may be used as a basis for fisheries management in the Humboldt Archipelago. The aim of such
management would be for fishermen and penguins to "stay out of each other's way" or for possible contacts are minimised.

Landau March 27, 2023. 

Sphenisco is in shock and mourns the loss of its Chairwoman, Gabriele Knauf. On March 21, she died suddenly and unexpectedly in Landau. Without Gabriele, Sphenisco would not exist.  In 2008, together with her husband, she initiated the Association for the Protection of the Humboldt Penguin and its Habitat. Since then, she has been  chairwoman of the association without interruption. With commitment, creativity, perseverance, political savvy and dignity, she shaped the work and contributed significantly to leading the association to where it is today.

-  Summary Fieldwork Report from Dr. Ursula Ellenberg und Maximiliano Daigre V.

Otago, New Zealand, Santiago, Chile February 9, 2023.

From 25 November to 17 December 2022, our small team stayed on Isla Choros, Reserva Nacional Pingüino de Humboldt, Chile, to study at-sea distribution and diving behaviour as well as obtain preliminary data on prey choice of breeding Humboldt penguins Spheniscus humboldtii.