The King Penguin | Articles of Interest for Travelers to The Antarctic
Though from its name you would think the King to be the largest of the species, in the penguin realm as in the human hierarchy, emperors trump kings. Similar in appearance to Emperors, the King stands over three feet tall and reaches over twenty-five pounds at adulthood. Its distinctive markings include bright orange patches on the sides of its brownish-black face and on its throat, complementing its bright beak which changes color as the bird ages and silver back feathers.
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Kings breed and lay a single egg on coastal beaches of sub-Antarctic islands. Like the Emperor species, the King holds the egg on its feet rather than building a nest, with the male and female alternating parenting duties every few days to two weeks. Eggs are laid starting in November through April and hatch in a little less than two months. The King chicks stay with the parents, sometimes over a year, and since the adults will not breed again until after their chicks are gone, breeding usually occurs every other year. With the abundant food supply available in the nutrient-rich Antarctic Convergence, Kings do not generally stray far from this area, though they may be found at that latitude in very different parts of the world, diving as deep as 200 feet to feed on a diet primarily of krill, fish and squid.
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Though the King penguin mostly occupies sub-Antarctic waters, some venture as far north as Tierra del Fuego, breeding in colonies of as many as 50,000 pairs. Visitors on Argentina tours may see Kings in the vicinity of the Magellanic penguin colony near Harberton on the eastern end of Beagle Channel. Though non-endemic to the Falkland Islands, a colony of some 120 pairs is found in an area accessible to visitors during their travel to Antarctica at Volunteer Point northeast of Stanley on East Falkland Island. Travelers on Antarctica tours will need government permission to visit the site. Some Kings come to the colder waters of South Georgia Island to breed where a colony of 75,000 pairs is found at Royal Bay on the east side of the island, and 100,000 pairs may be seen on Salisbury Plain on the north coast. It is possible to walk among some 100,000 pairs of Kings at St. Andrew’s Bay, always a memorable experience during Antarctica tours. Smaller numbers are found at Gold Harbor during breeding season. Kings are also found on the coasts of sub-Antarctic islands in the direction of New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.
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Since acquiring international protection, the King’s numbers have begun to rise. Today the world’s total population has reached over two million pairs.
