Geographic Range
King Penguins are found on sub-Antarctic and temperate-cool islands. They breed on seven islands or island groups ranging from the Falkland Islands and South Georgia in the southern Atlantic Ocean to Marion Island, The Crozet Archipelago, Kerguelen and Heard Island in the southern Indian Ocean to Macquarie Island in the southwest Pacific Ocean.
Physical Characteristics
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Mass: 13 kg. Approximately 1metre (3') tall.
Natural History
Food Habits
King penguin are quite specialised feeders. Most of their diet consists of lantern fish and squid.
King Penguins hunt in groups; this way experience can be gained from the older animals, who know where to find the prey. (we actually don’t know whether the young ones stay with the older animals. Probably not. First because they leave the breeding colonies at different times to most adults, and second because they don’t breed until they are a few years old, they are free to go wherever they want. Breeding adults are much more restricted.)Their food is found at about 10-200 metres below the surface in the summer, and they are excellent divers in order to retrieve their food. King penguins travel hundreds of kilometres to catch their prey.
In the winter, some of the fish they depend upon in summer move to deeper waters. King penguins then eat more squid because they cannot dive much beyond 300 m. Dives last an average2 to 5 minutes but dives lasting more than 8 minutes have been recorded. They hunt every day for several hours. This is particularly important before they moult. During the moult, the penguins are no longer waterproof and have to stay on land. For that time they rely entirely on body reserves that have to be laid down a month or so before the moult starts. During the moult, the penguins can loose up to 50% of their body mass.
When at sea, they drink salt water. At their breeding colonies, they drink freshwater or eat snow if it is available.
Reproduction
At the time that most penguins become sexually active, they become even more social, and very quarrelsome.
It is hard for a penguin to secure a place for himself and his mate, due to the crowding of thousands, sometimes even a million birds in the colony..
Before copulation, the male sings a trumpet like song and exhibits a variety of postures (stretching the head up, throwing it back, bowing) in order to attract a mate. The head is shown off excessively.
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| King Penguins at Royal Bay, South Georgia |
These displays communicate the sex and availability of the displayer. The females lay a single egg in the summer; both breeding partners share the incubation duty which lasts 51-57 days.
After the egg has been laid, the penguin pair stays close together, and each member of a pair sings a song to the other. This song is the only way they will tell each other apart if separated.
King Penguins, unlike many other penguins, build no nest. The egg is kept on the top of the incubating parents feet and kept warm.,. King Penguins raises only 2 young every 3 years, due to the long period that they care for them (1 year). They lay an egg early the first year, late the second, and no egg the third.
Behaviour
Penguins are intensely social, breeding as well as living in large social colonies.
They are excellent swimmers, and they live as well, if not better, in water as they do on land. The King Penguin walks on land or ice, and smooth rocks.
In the snow, they move forward by sliding on their bellies. In the water, their legs and their tail (which is streamlined and shaped like a triangle) serve as a steering rudder; and with their flippers they propel themselves through the water. When diving deep repeatedly their body temperature drops in the water, and they playfully dive up and down until they have eaten enough.
Habitat
The breeding areas of King Penguins are restricted to sub-Antarctic islands where the temperatures rarely exceed 10°C. In winter, the adults probably travel south towards the Antarctic pack-ice. Their breeding colonies can usually rocky ground but there can be ice or snow, too,
Conservation/Biodiversity
Status: special concern.
In the past, there has been some special concern for the King Penguin. They are now protected almost everywhere. Over the years, and especially in the early 1900s, king penguins were in great demand for their blubber, oil, and especially feathers.
The result was a reduction in the range of the species, as they were completely exterminated in some areas. The king penguin has also been harmed by oil spills and hunters who are egg collectors. Much of this activity is now banned, and the populations are currently increasing.
Other Comments
This species is second largest in its genus, and the second largest of all the penguins; only the Emperor penguin is larger.
References
Simpson, George Gaylord. 1976. Penguins: past and present, here and there. Yale University Press, London.
Sparks, John, and Tony Soper. 1987. Penguins. Facts on File Publications, New York
Barbara Wienecke, PhD, Seabird Ecologist, Department of Environment & Heritage, Australian Antarctic Divisionk.
