How Penguins Arrived at Ueno Zoological Gardens Before the World War II and Their Survival

I investigated the history of penguin arrivals at Ueno Zoological Gardens before World War II. Between 1915 and 1937, Humboldt Penguins Spheniscus humboldti were donated five times and purchased once. A Magellanic Penguin S. magellanicus was also donated once, for a total of seven arrivals. The former were transported from the west coast of South America by passenger cargo ships (six times) and the later by a cargo ship (once). The majority of penguins were captured (or purchased) in Iquique, Chile. Between 1910s and 1920s, the number of penguins captured increased, while the number of penguins that survived during the long boat trip did not increase. Later, in the 1930s the number of locally tamed penguins in South America increased. The survival of penguins in the zoo depended largely on their health condition at the time of arrival.