Royal penguin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Royal penguin |
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| Conservation status | |
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| Genus: |
Eudyptes
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| Species: |
schlegeli
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| Distribution royal penguin | |
The royal penguin (Eudyptes schlegeli) is a type of penguin. You can find them on Macquarie Island and other nearby islands in the sub-Antarctic region. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) says the royal penguin is "near threatened." This means they could be at risk in the future. Their scientific name honors a German zoologist named Hermann Schlegel.
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What Do Royal Penguins Look Like?
Royal penguins look a lot like macaroni penguins. Some people even wonder if they are a special kind of macaroni penguin. Sometimes, these two types of penguins even have babies together, but it's not very common.
Royal penguins live in the waters around Antarctica. The easiest way to tell them apart from macaroni penguins is their face. Royal penguins have a white face and chin, while macaroni penguins have a black face. Royal penguins are about 65 to 76 centimeters (25 to 30 inches) long. They weigh between 3 and 8 kilograms (6.6 to 17.6 pounds). Male royal penguins are usually bigger than females. Like other penguins, they spend a lot of time in the ocean, far from land.
How Do Royal Penguins Reproduce?
Royal penguins build their nests on beaches or on bare areas of slopes that have plants. They like to live in large groups called colonies, just like most seabirds. Their nests are simple scrapes on the ground, sometimes as far as a mile inland. The breeding season starts in September. The female penguins lay their eggs in October.
Royal penguins usually lay two eggs, but only one chick usually survives. Both parents take turns keeping the egg warm for about 35 days. They switch places every 12 days. After the chick hatches, the male parent takes care of it for 2 to 3 weeks. Then, the female returns with food for both the male and the chick. If the female is late or doesn't come back, the chick might not survive.
When the chicks are about one month old, they start to gather in groups. This helps them stay warm and safe. Both parents continue to feed the chicks two or three times a day. When the chicks are a little over two months old, they will have grown their adult feathers. At this point, they leave the colony and go to sea to find their own food.
Sometimes, a mother penguin will lay two eggs but abandon the first one just before the second egg arrives. Because of this, the first egg has less chance of hatching than the second one. Scientists are still trying to understand why this happens.
What Do Royal Penguins Eat?
Royal penguins mainly eat krill, which are tiny shrimp-like creatures. They also eat small fish and a little bit of squid.
During the breeding season, royal penguins hunt for food in specific areas close to their colonies. This means different penguin colonies might have their own fishing spots. This helps them avoid competing with each other for food.
What Threats Do Royal Penguins Face?
The royal penguin species is currently classified as "least concern" by the IUCN. However, they were once in great danger. In the past, people hunted royal penguins for their oil. Between 1870 and 1919, the government of Tasmania gave out special permits for hunting them. On average, about 150,000 penguins (both royal and king penguins) were caught each year.
At the busiest time in 1905, a factory on Macquarie Island could process 2,000 penguins at once. Each penguin provided about half a liter of oil.
Since penguin hunting stopped on Macquarie Island, the number of royal penguins has grown a lot. There are now about 850,000 pairs. Before hunting began, there were an estimated three million penguins (royal and king) on the island.
Images for kids
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Royal penguins on Macquarie Island
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Map showing where royal penguins live and nest
See also
In Spanish: Pingüino de Schlegel para niños
