Little blue penguin with ‘curious personality’ dies at age 10, California aquarium says
Since arriving at a California aquarium three years ago, a little blue penguin has been “wowing” visitors.
The penguin’s journey, however, has come to an end, the Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego said in an Aug. 19 news release.
The penguin, named Azulito or “little blue” in Spanish, died of natural causes “at nearly 11” years old on Aug. 8, the aquarium said.
“Azulito was an important member of the colony who brought all of us joy with his curious personality,” Assistant Curator of Birds Kayla Strate said in the release. “It is never easy to lose a member of our animal family.”
He was considered geriatric for his species, “which have a typical life expectancy of 7-10 years,” the aquarium said.
After his arrival “in 2021 for the opening of Beyster Family Little Blue Penguins,” the penguin was named via a public naming contest, the aquarium said.
The aquarium said Azulito was “one of its most popular little blue penguins,” which was evident in the plethora of comments on the aquarium’s social media post announcing his death.
“That’s devastating,” one wrote on Instagram. “He was the best swimmer. Azulito will be missed.”
“Goodbye my friend,” the UC San Diego Police Department commented.
What to know about little blue penguins
The species’ name is an homage to their “distinctive slate-blue or indigo-blue coloration of the feathers on the top of their body,” according to the Aquarium of the Pacific.
Standing at about 10 inches tall, little blue penguins are the smallest penguin species, according to the Birch Aquarium.
They “are native to the coastal dunes and rocky shores of Southern Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand,” the aquarium said.
The bird does not migrate but instead “are year-round residents of their island and mainland locations in the Southern Hemisphere,” the Aquarium of the Pacific said.
In the wild, little blue penguin populations “are facing numerous challenges from climate change,” the Birch Aquarium said in a February news release announcing the birth of a penguin chick.
Warmer waters lead penguins to “venture to colder, deeper waters to find food,” the aquarium said. This, in turn, affects their health, “making it more difficult for them to nest and breed.”
