King Penguin

 
Animal Unique | King Penguin | The King Penguin is very large compared to other species. It is the second largest of all. There are many places out there where the King Penguin is able to call home. King penguins can be found around the Oceanic islands in sub-Antarctic and temperate waters. King penguins breed on the subantarctic islands at the northern reaches of Antarctica, South Georgia and other temperate islands of the region. 

 
Scientific classification
Kingdom:     Animalia
Phylum:     Chordata
Class:     Aves
Order:     Sphenisciformes
Family:     Spheniscidae
Genus:     Aptenodytes
Species:     A. patagonicus

The body is a dark black and blue mix all on the back. They have dark yellow on their account and the back of the neck. They also have the yellow color on the front and the bit of black is giving way to the rest is all white. King Penguin males are generally larger and heavier than females. There is no denying the overall beauty of this particular penguin. Their tall and slim build gives them a kind of posture and movement that you usually see with the other penguins.

 
King penguins have adapted well to the extreme living conditions in the subantarctic. To keep warm, the penguins have four layers of feathering. King penguins have 70 feathers per square inch each. The outer layer of springs are oiled and waterproof, unlike the feathers of a duck, which included the amount of water that would otherwise increase their weight decreases. The inner three layers down, not very effective insulation. A chick is born without the oily outer layer, and therefore can not fish until maturity. A King Penguin chick has dark feathers down. They remain on the land and do not go in the water until their down feathers have fallen.

 
Breeding behavior of the Aptenodytes patagonicus is announced by the trumpet-like voice of the man, who also has a variety of court behavior, such as the extension of the head, throwing his head back and bow to draw a female. The females lay their eggs in the summer months, and males and females alternate incubation. Like the emperor penguin, king penguins do not build nests, they hatch the eggs by carrying them on top of the feet under the belly. This species will raise two chicks only every three years because of the long incubation period which lasts about one year.

 
King penguins feed on small fish and squid during dives that average 10-20 m in the summer months. In winter, king penguins have to forage deeper into the ocean and during this time foraging dives last from 5 minutes to more than 1.5 hours. They are rare feeders, feed every two weeks. Between foraging trips, king penguins can lose up to half their body weight. The King Penguin's predators are birds and aquatic mammals, Hunter types take small chicks and eggs, while the Snowy Sheathbill Removes dead chickens for eggs and unattended. The Leopard Seal takes adult birds at sea. Killer whales can also hunt king penguins.

 
The King Penguin has very little human interaction in their natural environment. Some of them are in zoos or educational purposes. For the most part, people are interested in observing them from a distance to learn about them, without ever disturbing their habitat. King penguins are hunted for eggs, bacon, oil and feathers. Commercial hunting of king penguins is banned, so the population is increasing and is estimated with a population of perhaps 2 million pairs.

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