Hunstanton SEA LIFE Sanctuary

The "Penguin Beach" is home to a family of rare Humboldt Penguins. The name Humboldt came from the early European explorer who first saw these animals.
Please click on a name to find out more about each of the Penguin residents.

Humboldts are flightless marine birds, which is true of all penguins, and are very well suited to their natural environment around the coastal areas of Peru and Chile. Humboldt´s wings operate effectively as narrow flippers, making them very agile and speedy swimmers.

In the water they cruise at a speed of around 5 miles per hour, rising to 10 mph if they are hunting or fleeing predators.

Humboldts are under threat from natural predators such as sharks but mankind has also had a big impact through fishing and disruption of habitats.

There are only around 10,000 Humboldts left in the wild and estimates suggest they could be extinct within 10 years unless action is taken.

The Sanctuary´s Humboldts were bred in captivity and we hope that providing them with a permanent home at the Sanctuary will provide a great opportunity to teach people more about these wonderful creatures and in time, they hope that the penguins will breed to further protect the dwindling numbers in the wild.

The Humboldt penguins have their annual moult during the summer months, and although there will be 3-4 weeks period when all of them will look scruffy, it won´t be long before they start to produce a beautiful new coat of feathers!!

This is an itchy process for the little group of penguins and it can put them off their food, which is why it is so important for the animal care team to regularly weigh them and monitor any changes in their weight.

During the moult, their insulation and waterproofing are compromised so they remain on land until their plumage returns to its best possible condition.