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King penguin

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Quick facts

Lifespan

Lifespan

20-25 years in the wild

40 years under human care

Diet

Diet

Fishes, squids

Habitat

Habitat

Open oceans,

marine intertidal

Range

Range

Subantarctic islands

and Antarctic peninsula

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The king penguins

Hail the Kings and Emperors

Hail the Kings and Emperors

The King Penguin stands at a height of 1 metre.  It is the second tallest penguin, after the Emperor Penguin, which is 1.3m tall.

The King Penguin was initially thought to be the tallest and largest penguin – the king of penguins until in 1844 when the Emperor Penguin was described as the largest of all penguins.

Meals Fit For The Kings

Meals Fit For The Kings

King Penguins dive to depths of 100m and beyond to catch bioluminescent lanternfish. Our King Penguins feed on capelin and herring. As the fish are thawed, water-soluble vitamins are lost.

To compensate for the loss, our keepers hide multi-vitamin tablets in fish and hand-feed them to our penguins.  Each bird gets three tablets a day, while smaller penguins receive two.

Mommy, Daddy Dearest

Mommy, Daddy Dearest

At 55 days, King Penguins have one of the longest incubation periods among birds. The female lays a single egg. Both parents take turns to incubate the egg between their feet and a fold of bare skin (the brood pouch). 

Then one parent goes hunting at sea and may be away for weeks. Throughout this period, the other parent cares for the egg without eating. When its mate returns, it takes over.    

Whose Baby Is This?

Whose Baby Is This?

King Penguin chicks sport a downy brown coat and look so different from the adults that they were once thought to be a different species. Early explorers called them `woolly penguins’.

King Penguin chicks take about 13 months to grow waterproof feathers and become independent – the longest of all penguin species.     

Babies Are Losing Weight!

Babies Are Losing Weight!

For the first few weeks after hatching, the chicks are fed and kept warm by their parents. At about six weeks old, they join a creche while their parents go hunting at sea.

They may fast for up to five months and lose up to 70% of their body weight before the parents return to feed them.  Some parents never return, and chicks starve to death.

Together, we protect wildlife

Too Far to Swim

Too Far to Swim

King Penguins get most of their food from a vital band of water called the Antarctic Polar Front. Here, cold water meets warmer water.

This band is edging farther away with climate change, and king penguins may have to swim farther to forage.

While King Penguins are not listed as a threatened species just yet, climate change might endanger their future survival.    

The IUCN Status

LC

Least Concern

At relatively low risk of extinction

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is widely recognized as the most comprehensive, objective global approach for evaluating the conservation status of plant and animal species.

DD

Data Deficient

Unknown risk of extinction

LC

Least Concern

At relatively low risk of extinction

NT

Near Threatened

Likely to become vulnerable in the near future

VU

Vulnerable

At high risk of extinction in the wild

EN

Endangered

At very high risk of extinction in the wild

CR

Critically Endangered

At extremely high risk of extinction in the wild

EW

Extinct in the Wild

Survives only in captivity

EX

Extinct

No surviving individuals in the wild or in captivity

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The Wild Scoop
The Wild Scoop

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Every visit to our parks comes with
Find out how, together, we're creating a better future for wildlife and the planet.

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