Five Humboldt penguins die from heatstroke in Toyama zoo
Humboldt penguins at Toyama Municipal Family Park Zoo are pictured in this Dec. 2008 photo. (Mainichi)
Although the Humboldt penguin is said to be relatively resistant to heat, it apparently wasn't enough for this year's scorching hot summer that brought 19 successive days of temperatures over 35 degrees in Toyama -- the most on record.
"I don't remember this kind of thing ever happening before," said a representative of the zoo.
Humboldt penguins live primarily on the coast of temperate areas in South America such as Chile and Peru, and there are some 1,700 at around 80 facilities in Japan, said a zoo representative.
The first penguin to die was a 22-year-old female on Aug. 19. Through Sept. 21, four more penguins died -- three females and one male, aged from four to 15 years. Dissections of the bodies determined that the penguins had died from dehydration and other symptoms of heatstroke.
Blood tests of the remaining eight penguins showed problems such as impaired kidney and liver function, leading the zoo to close the penguin exhibit from Sept. 22 and begin administering vitamins and taking other measures for the penguins' health.
Records from the Toyama Local Meteorological Observatory show that on the days when the penguins died, the maximum recorded temperatures in the city were from 29.4 to 33.6 degrees. A zoo representative said that although the zoo had taken measures including setting up running water on the land part of the penguin exhibit and installing mist-blowing machines, these steps appear to have been insufficient for protecting the penguins from dehydration.
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