Humboldt Penguins

I asked about why these penguins were there (I don't generally agree with 'zoos') but the explanation was that these Humboldt penguins,also known as Peruvian penguins, live off the coast of Peru and Chile on islands and are endangered.

What happens is that the Peruvians gather the penguin poo, called guano and it's used and prized as a fertiliser (collecting it is now banned in S.Africa) ....so the collectors trample on the eggs. The penguins were eaten by sailors, caught for zoos and private collections and their eggs were collected by egg collectors - in the Falklands Island the eggs were so prized that even the school kids were given a day off once a year - Penguin day- to collect their eggs..They get caught in long line fishing gear too,hit by oil spills from tankers in the treacherous waters off the Cap of Good Hope at the tip of S.Africa and Cape Horn S. America ,also commercial fishing has reduced their food source greatly. The warm waters of El Nino play a part too because that warm water depletes fish stocks and they think that some 65% of the population of Humbolds were lost during the 1982/83 El Nino.They are on the CITES protection list. Having heard all this then I can accept their captivity better, they live for 20 years in the wild and 30 years in sanctuaries.