Humboldt Penguin at the Hagenbeck Zoo, Hamburg (Germany)

The Humboldt Penguin (Spheniscus humboldti) is a medium-sized penguin. It resides in South America, along the Pacific coast of Peru and Chile. Its nearest relatives are the African Penguin, the Magellanic Penguin and the Galápagos Penguin. The Humboldt Penguin and the cold water current it swims in both are named after the explorer Alexander von Humboldt. The sex of the Humboldt Penguin cannot be recognised via differences in plumage, as they are monomorphic. The male is heavier and larger than the females. Their sex can be determined via head width and bill length; the male has a longer bill than the female. Humboldt penguins have a black head with a white border that runs from behind the eye, around the black ear-coverts and chin, and joins at the throat. They have blackish-grey upperparts and whitish underparts, with a black breast-band that extends down the flanks to the thigh. They have a fleshy-pink base to the bill. Juveniles have dark heads and no breast-band. On land they look clumsy and cute, in the water they become rockets as fast as an arrow: like all penguins, Humboldt Penguins are unable to fly, but they cleverly use their wings as propulsion, stabilizers and rudders when swimming and diving. When diving they can easily reach speeds up to 30 km/h (about 20 mph).

The Hagenbeck Zoo (Tierpark Hagenbeck) is a zoo in Stellingen, Hamburg, Germany. The collection began in 1863 with animals that belonged to Carl Hagenbeck Sr. (1810–1887), a fishmonger who became an amateur animal collector. The park itself was founded by Carl Hagenbeck Jr. (1844–1913) in 1907 and it is still operated and owned by the Hagenbeck family today. It is known for being the first zoo to use open enclosures surrounded by moats, rather than barred cages, to better approximate animals' natural environments. Over the years, the zoo has gained a good reputation for successfully breeding rare and endangered species such as the Asian Elephant and the Siberian Tiger.