Most of these are penguins. Enormous penguin populations Four types of penguins breed on Macquarie Island. Royal penguins are the most numerous with a population estimated at around 850 000. These penguins are endemic to Macquarie Island. They spend seven months of the year at Macquarie foraging offshore for shrimps and fish.
King penguins spend all year on the island.
Their chicks take 11 months to fledge so pairs do not breed every year. They mainly feed on fish and may forage up to 480 km offshore. Gentoo penguins are also present all year round on the island. This is the only gentoo penguin population in the Pacific sector, mostly these penguins occur in the Atlantic sector. They generally feed inshore in shallower waters on squid and fish.