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King penguin Aptenodytes patagonicus

Fast facts

  • Grows up to 90cm tall and is the second-largest penguin species
  • Its single egg rests on the penguin’s feet, kept warm by a flap of skin
  • Can drink salt water – its body filters out the salt

Our beloved king penguin, Ivan, has passed away. Please read our tribute here.

King penguins are the second largest of all penguin species. They live in large colonies on islands in the southern oceans.

Unlike many other penguins, king penguins walk as opposed to hop while on land.

They do not build nests, but carry a single egg around on their feet, covered by a fold of skin. The egg is incubated during summer and the chick is reared during winter.

The eggs are incubated during the warmer season because food is more available. The females venture into open seas and only return to their mates after about twenty days to take their turn keeping the egg warm.

Sealers called king penguin chicks “Oakum Boys”, because their feathers look like the rope fibres (oakum) that were used to caulk (stop and waterproof) the seams of wooden ships.

Although king penguins look similar to emperor penguins (the stars of the movie Happy Feet), they are smaller, more slender and have longer bills and flippers. They have no feathers on their legs and look like they are wearing brown leather boots. King penguins have four layers of feathers. The outer layer is waterproof and oily, almost like a well-fitting raincoat. The inner three layers are soft and downy, to keep the birds warm and insulated.

King and emperor penguins live in very different conditions. King penguins live on the sub-Antarctic islands where there is little or no ice, eg Prince Edward, Marion, Crozet and the Falkland Islands in the southern oceans. Emperor penguins live and breed on and around the Antarctic continent and spend most of their time on ice.

Food scarcity, caused by global warming, is threatening the survival of King penguins in the wild. Krill are very sensitive to changes in the ocean temperature. If there is no krill, there will be no fish for the penguins to eat. A small increase (quarter of a degree) in ocean temperature can cause up to a 9% decline in the adult bird survival rate.

Like most penguins, king penguins are able to drink salt water because they can filter excess salt from their blood stream, which they then get rid of through their noses in a salty brine.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, sealers used the oil, flesh, eggs and skins of king penguins for fuel, food and clothes.

Standing height: 81 to 90cm
Weight: 15 to 17kg
Breeding grounds: Sub-Antarctic Islands, from Heard and MacDonald Islands in the East to the Falkland Islands in the West.