The King Penguin is a member of the Aptenodytes genus and enjoys the glory of being the 2nd largest penguin species, after the Emperor Penguin. It gets its name from its tall stature
Table of Contents
Scientific Classification
Animalia
Chordata
Aves
Sphenisciformes
Spheniscidae
Aptenodytes
Aptenodytes patagonicus
Table Of Content
Table of Contents
Scientific Classification
Animalia
Chordata
Aves
Sphenisciformes
Spheniscidae
Aptenodytes
Aptenodytes patagonicus
Table of Contents
King Penguins and Emperor Penguins are often confused due to the similarity in their appearance, but the latter is much larger than the former (along with some other physical differences). The range of distribution of both the species is also different.
Its population in the wild is currently around 2.23 million pairs.
Description
Height
They are tall, growing up to 3 ft in height.
King Penguin
Weight
They weigh around 15 kg as adults.
Color
Upper body of this penguin has silver-grey shades and the head is colored with a mix of black and brown shades. It is contrasted with a bright orange and yellow ear patches. Bill is black and orange and is slightly curved downwards.
The chicks have brownish gray down feathers.
Distribution
Breeding locales of these penguins have been traced to the islands situated around Antarctica, towards the north, including South Georgia as well as some temperate islands. Huge colonies of these birds are found on Macquarie Island, Falkland Islands, Crozet, Kerguelen Island, South Georgia, Heard Island and Prince Edward Island.
Much less is known about their locations during non-breeding seasons, but it is presumed to be in the South Atlantic, southern Indian and Southern Ocean. Vagrancy can be found in the birds as they have been found to have migrated as far north as New Zealand, South Africa and Australia.
Habitat
They live in temperate waters and retire to sub-Antarctic for breeding.
Behavior
Males undergo long fasts during courting and incubation periods, which can be as long as 55 days.
Until the chicks attain waterproof feathers, they cannot swim like the adults and stay on dry land.
During courtship, the male engages in ecstatic display during which it raises its beak and flippers.
It the female agrees to mate with a particular male, she will confront the male and both will nod their heads rigorously in seeming approval.
They hunt in group and dive deep to catch their prey.
They consume large amounts of food and hunt for many continuous hours to store energy which will be required for the period of fasting during their molting season.
They are amazing hikers on rocky terrains and icy regions.
Both juveniles and adults molt.
King Penguin Image
Vocalizations
They produce a variety of harmonizing sounds during mating which is coupled with a clapping of their bills. This penguin has a loud contact call which is audible for miles.
Display calls are made to communicate between partners and threat calls are made in response to intrusion or the presence of a potential predator.
Diet
A major portion of their diet comprises of squids and small fish, which include lanternfish. Fish make up around 80 percent of their diet, which decreases to almost 30% during the winters when their frequency goes down. However, on different occasions they survive on krill to a great extent.
The young chicks cannot fish by themselves, and eat with the help of the parents who regurgitate the food for them.
The base of the food chain in Antarctica is krill, over fishing of which might reduce the food available to these magnificent birds.
Adaptations
To survive in the environment of the sub-Atlantic, they have some unique adaptive features:
In order to survive the cold, they have 4 layers of insulating feathers to keep them warm.
They have waterproofing feathers on the exterior which remain oily due to a secretion from certain glands to repel water.
They can drink saltsea water as they have special glands to strain out surplus salt from their body via a capillary present right on top of their eyes.
They have a patch on their bodies which holds the egg during the entire incubation period.
It uses its belly to slide across the snow
While swimming it steers using its feet and tail
Mating Season
Mating is timed to ensure that chicks get enough food when they mature and head out to sea. Courtship is short and is mainly prompted by the males. A series of actions are performed during this period when the male tries to impress the female. When the male is successful, they mount the females by pressing the female’s neck down with their own.
Breeding
They have a very long breeding cycle which extends to more than a year in total. From the age of 3, it becomes capable of breeding but it doesn’t generally occur till they are 6 years old. They are serially monogamous and remain loyal to their partner for the year.
Baby King Penguin
Breeding birds can be segregated into two types – early and late breeders. Breeding season for the ones in the first group begins in November, with the egg hatching in the middle of January. A gestation period of around 55 to 60 days takes place. Late breeders lay their eggs in January, with the eggs hatching by March.
Breeding pairs are not always successful in breeding every year, despite their best efforts. The breeding cycle commences when the birds take a journey for ‘prenuptial molt’ in the colonies, in the months from September till November. One white egg is laid by the female which is incubated by the parents in shifts.
Life Cycle
Life begins from the egg which is initially white and soft but gradually becomes hard and light greenish in color. A large size egg weighing around 300 gm or more is laid and is incubated for a period of 55 days. Hatching may take around 3 days after which the parent guards the chick and feeds it.
For the first 40 days, chicks remain under the care of the adults after which they unite into crèches which guard them. Fledging occurs by the beginning of summer and they march to the sea after they are 16 months old. They mature sexually by the age of 3 but breed only a couple of years later.
Life Span
They live for around 20 years in the wild, but up to 30 years in captivity.
Predators
Natural predators of these penguins generally constitute birds like the snowy sheathbill and Skua species which eat their eggs and chicks. Aquatic mammals like Orcas and Leopard seals are some of the threats they face at sea as adults.
Sub-species
Two recognized sub-species of this penguin are:
Aptenodytes patagonica patagonicus
Aptenodytes patagonica halli
King Penguin Egg
Conservation Status
They have been classified as a “Least Concern” species by the IUCN Red List.
Despite of being labeled as Least Concern, they face threats due to global warming which might force their population to decline
Interesting Facts
A square inch of area on its body has as many as 70 feathers.
They can dive between 50 m and 500 m deep.
Juvenile penguins have very thick feathers which looks like a sheep’s wool, which is why they were often called “wooly penguins” by early explorers.
Like other penguins, they do not build nest and carry the egg in their brood patch instead.
At the end of each incubation shift, the parent goes off to the sea to feed for a long period.
Even after hatching, the adult protects its hatchling by keeping it in the brood patch for another month.
A rare sighting of an all black (melanistic) King Penguin has been reported in the island of South Georgia.
Studies have proven that the flipper bands that researchers put on them in the for tracking purposes can actually have deadly effects, risking their life and breeding capacity.
An elderly couple in Japan has trained their pet King penguin Lala to fetch fish from the market every day.
Bizarre but true: a King Penguin from the Edinburgh Zoo, Nils Olav, was knighted in Norway.
