Interesting Creatures... King Penguin [Aptenodytes patagonicus]

Interesting Creatures… King Penguin [Aptenodytes patagonicus]

Feb 04, 2018 Features / Columnists, Interesting Creatures in Guyana

The king penguin [Aptenodytes patagonicus] is a large species of penguin, second only to the emperor penguin in size. There are two subspecies: A. p. patagonicus and A. p. halli; patagonicus is found in the South Atlantic and halli found at the Kerguelen Islands and Crozet Island, Prince Edward Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, and Macquarie Island.
King penguins eat small fish, mainly lantern fish, and squid. They are less reliant on krill and other crustaceans than most Southern Ocean predators. On foraging trips king penguins repeatedly dive to over 100 metres (300 ft), and have been recorded at depths greater than 300 metres (1,000 ft).
King penguins breed on the subantarctic islands at the northern reaches of Antarctica, South Georgia, and other temperate islands of the region.
The king penguin stands at 70 to 100 cm (28 to 39 in) tall and weighs from 9.3 to 18 kg (21 to 40 lb). Males are slightly larger than females. The mean body mass of adults from Marion Island was 12.4 kg (27 lb) for 70 males and 11.1 kg (24 lb) for 71 females.
Another study from Marion Island found that the mean mass of 33 adults feeding chicks was 13.1 kg (29 lb). Thus the average weight of the king penguin is similar or just slightly higher than that of the largest living flying birds.
The plumage of the king penguin is broadly similar to that of the closely related emperor penguin, with a broad cheek patch contrasting with surrounding dark feathers and yellow-orange colour at the top of the chest. However, the cheek patch of the adult king penguin is bright orange whereas that of the emperor penguins is white, while the chest orange tends to be more vivid and less yellowish in the king species.
Both species have colourful markings along the side of their lower mandible, but these are pinkish in emperor penguins and orange in king penguins. Emperor and king penguins typically do not occur together in the wild, with the possible exception of vagrants at sea, but the emperor can readily be distinguished by being noticeably larger and bulkier. Once fully moulted of its heavy dark brown down, the juvenile king penguin resembles the adult but is somewhat less colourful.
King penguins often breed on the same large, circumpolar islands as at least half of all living penguins, but it is easily distinguished from co-occurring penguins by its much larger size and taller frame, distinctive markings and grizzled sooty-grayish rather than blackish back.
The king penguin’s predators include birds and aquatic mammals: Giant petrels take several chicks of various sizes and some eggs. In rare cases they have been reported to kill adult king penguins, but probably mostly infirm ones. Giant petrels may devour additional young king penguins which have already died from other causes.
Skua species (Stercorarius spp.) take small chicks and eggs. Some writings may overemphasize the effect skua predation have on king penguin colonies, but large numbers are taken in areas where skua nest close to penguin colonies.
The snowy sheathbill (Chionis alba) and kelp gull (Larus dominicanus) scavenge for dead chicks and unattended eggs. The leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx) takes adult birds at sea. Orcas may also hunt king penguins.
Antarctic fur seals on Marion Island have also been seen chasing king penguins on the beach, killing and eating them. It seems that especially males, and particularly sub-adults males, are involved.
The king penguin has an unusually prolonged breeding cycle, taking some 14–16 months from laying to offspring fledging. Although pairs will attempt to breed annually, they are generally only successful one year in two, or two years in three in a triennial pattern on South Georgia.
The reproductive cycle begins in September to November, as birds return to colonies for a prenuptial moult. Those that were unsuccessful in breeding the previous season will often arrive earlier. They then return to the sea for three weeks before coming ashore in November or December.
The female penguin lays one pyriform (pear-shaped) white egg weighing 300 g (⅔ lb). It is initially soft, but hardens and darkens to a pale greenish colour. It measures around 10 cm × 7 cm (3.9 in × 2.8 in). The egg is incubated for around 55 days with both birds sharing incubation in shifts of 6–18 days each.
Hatching may take up to 2–3 days to complete, and chicks are born semi-altricial and nidicolous. In other words, they have only a thin covering of down, and are entirely dependent on their parents for food and warmth.
The guard phase starts with the birth of the chick. The young chick spends its time balanced on its parents’ feet, sheltered by a pouch formed from the abdominal skin of the latter. During this time, the parents alternate every 3–7 days, one guarding the chick while the other forages.
The guard phase lasts for 30–40 days. By then the chick has grown much bigger, can keep itself warm and protect itself against most predators. It becomes more curious and starts to explore its surroundings. It ends up forming a group with other chicks, a so-called crèche.
Crèches are guarded by only a few adult birds; most parents can leave their chick to forage for themselves and their chick. Other species of penguins also practice this method of communal care for offspring. [Source: Wikipedia]