Antarctica Picture | Antarctica Cruise | Facts | History | Boots | Store | Clothes | Whales | Books | Video | Schools | Forum | Site Map | FIDS / OAE's
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Antarctica Picture | Antarctica Cruise | Facts | History | Boots | Store | Clothes | Whales | Books | Video | Schools | Forum | Site Map | FIDS / OAE's
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Antarctic Penguins
There are just 17 species of penguin worldwide, they all
live in the Southern Hemisphere apart from the Galapagos penguin which just
about qualifies as living in the Northern Hemisphere as it spans a narrow band
at the equator.
Of this 17, there are 4 that live and nest on and around the
Antarctic continent and a further 3 that live and nest on Antarctic and sub-Antarctic
islands, giving us 7 species that can be considered "Antarctic Penguins"
Nest building - All but king and emperor penguins build a nest, though they are usually only a simple pile of stones that are continually stolen and swapped between the members of a colony. The nests are slightly higher than the surrounding land so that if the temperature rises and the snow melts, the nest is not flooded. Emperor and King penguins keep the egg and then the young chick on their feet covered by a brood pouch until they are large enough to regulate their own temperature. Breeding Colonies - penguin colonies are very loud, raucous, busy and smelly affairs. The call of all penguins is as musical and gentle as a braying jackass and the whole colony is usually awash with penguin guano (posh word for bird poop). When I was in Antarctica one thing I did was help with long-term surveys which entailed walking through the colony (terribly frowned upon these days). Each nest is just over two pecking distances apart so the penguins can't reach each other. Of course walking through the middle meant that you were in range of everyone. I used to worry a lot about falling over in a penguin colony, covered from head to toe in guano and pecked mercilessly. Reproduction: Colonies may be of just a handful of breeding pairs or up to half a million birds and more. Many species lay two eggs, though it is rare that two chicks are raised, if food is short it will be fed to the biggest and strongest only. Male and female parents share egg and chick duty. Chicks are fed regurgitated fish and krill (yum!). The chicks leave the nest (or parents feet) when they are large enough to keep their own temperature constant, they form crèches to give each other mutual support and protection from marauding skuas and also to protect against the cold and wind. Penguins main predators are usually leopard seals (the main predators of adult birds) and Skuas (the main predators of eggs and unguarded chicks)
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