Gentoo penguin eggs are taken by skuas. Nests are often flattened by indifferent Elephant Seals as they move about the island. They are widespread throughout the sub-Antarctic and feed mainly on fish and squid which they catch below the surface of the water. Males weigh approximatley 16.5kg and females 14.3kg. King penguins are exceeded in size only by emperor penguins.
King penguins have a patch of bright golden-orange feathers on their neck.
At sea, predators of king penguins include leopard seals and killer whales. In the colonies, skuas, sheathbills and giant petrels take eggs and young birds. They are the most widespread of thc crested penguin, with a circumpolar distribution. Rockhopper penguins eat predominantly euphausiids, myctophid fish and squid. Rockhopper, like royal penguins, are migratory and depart Macquarie Island at the end of the breeding season.