King Penguin

Aptenodytes patagonicus patagonicus

### Regions

Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Prince Edward Islands, Crozet Islands, Marion Island, Heard Island and Mcdonald Islands, Macquarie Islands, Argentina, Chile

## Habitat

### Water Area

200 m² +4 m²/ea. add'l
144 m² +3 m²/ea. add'l

### Temperature

0 m²
‒20‒17 ℃

## Social

### Fem. Bachelor

6‒500 (up to 500 males, up to 500 females)
6‒500
6‒500

### Sterility

3 years
Death

### Interbirth

2 months
12 months

## Taxonomy

### Order

Aves
Sphenisciformes

### Genus

Spheniscidae
Aptenodytes

The **King Penguin** (*Aptenodytes patagonicus patagonicus*) is a large Antarctic bird featured in the Aquatic Pack DLC for *Planet Zoo*.

## Zoopedia Description

### General

**Population in the Wild:** 4,500,000

The king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus patagonicus) is a large species of seabird that inhabits the Antarctic Ocean and breeds on subantarctic islands such as the Falklands and South Georgia. Its plumage is dark gray on the back and fins; white on the chest and abdomen, and yellow in the neck area, and its head is black with bright orange spots on the cheeks of the same color as the strip that runs through its beak. Their height ranges from 70 to 100 cm, and the weight of king penguins is between 9 and 14 kg. They are the second largest penguin species, only behind the emperor penguin.

The species is not threatened, although forecasts point to a rapid decline in its population over the next few decades. This is due to climate change, which is likely to affect the distribution of the species it feeds on around the islands where it breeds. Also, ocean warming could change the flow of ocean currents. Penguins also have trouble finding food in areas where commercial fishing is more widespread. Although the king penguin is not in danger due to its current high population, there are already non-governmental organizations that propose to maintain it by creating marine reserves around its habitat and limiting fishing in those areas.

### Social

King penguins are social animals and, when they are not foraging in the sea, they live in huge colonies of several thousand pairs.

### Reproduction

Between September and November, king penguins come ashore to change plumage and mate. Males and females try to attract a mate with calls before initiating a courtship ritual in which they both bow, stretch their necks, and rub their necks.

After this ritual, the female will lie on her belly for the male to copulate with her. They then return to the sea, where they will spend 3 weeks feeding before returning to the island to lay and care for the egg.

After laying the egg, the mother incubates it on her feet, covering it with her brood bag for between 6 and 18 days, at which time she takes turns with the male to go hunting. They will maintain this shift change routine for 55 days, until the egg hatches. If one parent is absent too long, the other will leave the egg, resulting in the rapid death of the unborn chick if it comes into contact with frozen ground.

The hatching process can last between 2 and 3 days, and the chick, very vulnerable to cold immediately after hatching, will remain in the brood bag of the parents, who will take care of it in shifts of between 3 and 7 days.

Between 30 and 40 days later, the chick is big and strong enough to come out of the bag and begin to move more independently. He will begin to explore and interact with other chicks in a nursery supervised by several adults. By April, most chicks have reached adult size, losing weight in the southern winter before regaining it in spring and fighting in summer. King penguins reach sexual maturity at 3 years old, but are unlikely to mate until they are 5 or 6 years old.

## Animal care

 FEEDING STATIONS
 FOOD ENRICHMENT
Underwater Box Feeder · Block of Frozen Fish
Bubble Machine · Mirror Mobile · Sprinkler · Water Jet · Water Jet Rock · Rubber Duck · Platform Floats · Submarine Buoy

## Trivia

### Zoopedia Fun Facts

* The greatest depth of diving recorded for a king penguin is 343 m, and the longest time submerged that could be measured is 9 minutes and 12 seconds.
* The kidney system of the king penguin is adapted so that they can drink sea water and filter salt.
* Edinburgh Zoo houses a King Penguin named Sir Nils Olav III, who is Colonel-in-Chief of the Norwegian Royal Guard.
* King penguins are monogamous, only mate with one pair each breeding season and care for the chick together. However, couples only last for life in 30% of cases.
* King penguins that are unsuccessful in mating or that lose their egg or chick will try to steal that of other pairs.

### Other Trivia

* The **King Penguin** was the first penguin to be added to the game.
* In Update 1.15, the King Penguin received Leucistic, Melanistic, Xanthic, and Brown colour variations.