📸 PhotoPhoto: Liam Quinn from Canada · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
King Penguin
Aptenodytes patagonicus (King Penguin · オウサマペンギン)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its average weight of 11.8 kg is slightly heavier than one 10 kg bag of rice (Comparison).
- 💡 In a nature-tourism study on the Falkland Islands, the King Penguin was the most visited penguin species, with tourists watching them for an average of 63 minutes (Animal Diversity Web).
- 💡 In colonies, adult birds gather chicks together instead of using nests, forming communal crèches (Animal Diversity Web).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
Site-computed relative index from recorded values; not a formal scientific metric.
📖 1. Overview
The King Penguin is the second-largest species of penguin and forms large colonies on sparsely vegetated coasts of sub-Antarctic islands.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
It resembles the Emperor Penguin but is more colorful and has a longer, more slender bill. Its lower mandible has a pinkish-red to orange-yellow stripe.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It travels up to 500 km from its colony out to sea to catch squid and small fish. Rather than building a nest, it incubates its egg and raises its chick on top of its feet.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2020) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22697748/184637776
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • doi.org — avilist.v2026
- • iucnredlist.org — 184637776
- • wikidata.org — Q182209
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:King Penguins on Saunders Island (5586254113).jpg
- • animaldiversity.org — Aptenodytes patagonicus
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Steven Traver · CC0 1.0
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.