KING PENGUINS
BY TAMARA.B & KASEY.L
APPERANCE
King penguins are the secod largest of the penguin species,on average they are around 15kg and 95cm tall. King penguins have a black back ,long yellow neck as well as webbed feet and a orange beak. The scientific name for the king penguin is Aptenodytes Patagonicus.
HABITAT
There are quite a few locations where king penguins are able to call home. Most of them are found in the Sub Antartic region.Other locations include Folkland Island,Prince Edward Island,Southern Georgia ,New Zealand & Australia.
DIET
King penguins diet is mainly made up of meat. They also enjoy fish,krill,squid and bits of the ground called crustaoceans.
KRILL
These are tiny shrimp like creatures which live in the sea. They ar the main food for most of the fish , birds, seals and even giant whales in Antarctica.
FISH
There are only a few types of Antarctic fish, all well-adapted to the cold.
SQUID
Squid are a diverse group of invertebrates (animals without backbones), and range in size from barely 2.5 centimetres to a total length approaching 18 metres.
BREADING
Instead, they lay only one egg at a time and carry it around on their feet covered with a flap of abdominal skin called the brood patch.Late breeders lay and incubate their eggs from January until March.The parents will then moult, leave to go to sea for several weeks to fatten up again and then become the late breeders for that season.While some pairs successfully bread each year most of the time once the chick can defend a new partner is found
EGG
The process of reproducion takes place between 3 to 6 years. They breed from September to November.
NEW BORN
Upon hatching, the chicks continue to be protected on the parents feet and the brood patch for another 30-40 days after which time, they are large enough to be able to regulate their temperature for themselves.
ADULT
While some pairs successfully bread each year most of the time once the chick can defend a new partner is found.
How do King penguins live their lives?
King penguins leave the colony where they were born when they have fledged fully and so are able to swim in the sea and catch their own food.King penguins have been equipped with depth recorders and have been found to dive to at least 50m (160ft) in about half of their dives.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
http://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/wildlife/King_penguins.htm
http://www.arkive.org/king-penguin/aptenodytes-patagonicus/
Pitures from google images
A is for Antarctica- book