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King Penguin
Conservation status
Least Concern
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Sphenisciformes Family: Spheniscidae Genus: Aptenodytes Species: A. patagonicus
Binomial name
Aptenodytes patagonicus Miller,JF, 1778

The King Penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) is the second largest species of penguin at about 90 cm (3 ft) tall and weighing 11 to 16 kg (24 to 35 lb), second only to the Emperor Penguin. There are two subspecies - A. p. patagonicus and A. p. halli; patagonicus is found in the South Atlantic and halli elsewhere.

King penguins eat small fish, mainly lanternfish, and squid and rely less than most Southern Ocean predators on krill and other crustaceans. On foraging trips they repeatedly dive to over 100 metres (350 feet), often over 200 metres (700 feet). This is far deeper than other penguins, other than their closest relative, the larger Emperor penguin.

King Penguins breed on the subantarctic islands at the northern reaches of Antarctica, as well as Tierra del Fuego, the Falkland Islands, and other temperate islands of the region. The total population is estimated to be 2.23 million pairs and is increasing.^[1]

The King Penguin feeds its chicks by eating a fish, digesting it slightly and regurgitating the food into the chick's mouth. When the young penguins are large enough, they will often form crèches, a group of many chicks together. A penguin can leave its chick at a crèche while it fishes as a few adult penguins stay behind to look after them. Other varieties of penguins also practice this method of communal care for offspring.

Penguins including the King penguin have an organ above their eyes that converts seawater to fresh water.

King Penguins at South Georgia

Mating King Penguins at Macquarie Island

Because of their large size, King Penguin chicks take 14-16 months before they are ready to go to sea. This is markedly different from smaller penguins, who rear their chicks through a single summer when food is plentiful. King Penguins time their mating so the chicks will develop over the harshest season for fishing. In this way, by the time the young penguins are finally mature enough to leave their parents, it is summer when food is plentiful and conditions are more favorable for the young to survive alone.

Breeding begins in November or December. The egg is incubated for around 55 days with both birds sharing incubation. By April the chicks are almost fully grown, but lose weight during the winter months, gaining it again during spring in September. Fledging then takes place in late spring/early summer. King penguins normally only breed after they are 4 years old.

King Penguins are changing the guard of the egg at South Georgia Island

King Penguins form huge breeding colonies - for example the colony on South Georgia Island at Salisbury Plain holds over 25,000 birds and the one at St. Andrew's Bay over 100,000 birds. Because of the long breeding cycle, colonies are continuously occupied.

King Penguins a parent and a chick South Georgia Island

King penguins have adapted well to their extreme living conditions in the subantarctic. To keep warm, the penguins have four layers of feathering. The outer layer of feathers are oiled and waterproof, not unlike the feathering of a duck. The inner three layers are down feathers, very effective insulation. A chick is born without the oily outer layer, and therefore cannot fish until maturity.

King Penguins at South Georgia Island

Great colony of about 60.000 pairs of hatching King Penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) in Salisbury plain on South Georgia.

Like most penguins, the King Penguin is able to drink salt water because of their supraorbital gland which filters excess salt from their blood stream by way of a capillary just above the penguin's eyes. The excess salt is then expelled through the penguin's nose in a salty brine.

• Nils Olav, mascot and Colonel in Chief of the Royal Norwegian Guard
• The King Penguin is also the species of penguin represented by the popular character Pondus, an image found on various paraphernalia in many retail stores throughout Canada. Pondus originates in Danish children's books written and photographed by Ivar Myrhøj and published by publisher Lademann in the late 1960s.

• BirdLife International (2004). Aptenodytes patagonicus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern

1. ^ Shirihai, Hadoram (2002). A Complete Guide to Antarctic Wildlife. Alula Press. ISBN 951-98947-0-5. 

• www.pinguins.info : information about all species of penguins
• 70South - more info on the King penguin
• King penguins from the International Penguin Conservation Web Site
• http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Aptenodytes_patagonicus.html King Penguins from the Animal Diversity Web]
• Penguins in the Falklands
• King Penguin videos on the Internet Bird Collection
• Penguin World: King penguin
• See also the famous art-project Penguins - Traveling the World - Photographs by Willy Puchner

One of a kind King Penguin at South Georgia Island

King Penguins and an elephant seal at South Georgia Island