King penguins show little fear of people. Many penguins are curious and even walk up to people. This maybe because they are nearsighted. Some penguins can dive 900 feet under water and stay twenty minutes. They jump in and out of the water as they swim long distances.
King penguins have a large oil gland near their tail.
They use their face and bill to spread the oil over their feathers. The oily coating on the feathers keep the birds dry. Without the oily coating on their feathers, the birds would become water soaked and quickly die. The penguins feed on floating little fish and other swimming animals, which live in the kelp beds off the coast of the islands they live on. Although some penguins seems to favor crabs, the king penguin eats small fish and squid.