King Chicks
It’s King Penguin breeding season at Kelly Tarlton’s!
Kelly Tarlton’s is proud to welcome its newest residents - three new King chicks, and more expected through April. Take a snowcat ride through the penguins' icy domain and catch a glimpse of our cute fluffy chicks and their parents on the rookery.
King penguin breeding season at Kelly Tarlton’s starts from November and runs through to April. The Kings reach sexual maturity at approximately 3 years of age, and lay a single egg which they incubate on their feet rolling their brood pouch over it. Both parents take turns at incubating the egg which hatches after 53-55 days. Once hatched, King chicks weigh approximately 180grams and are fed partially digested fish that is regurgitated by parents to the chick.
King penguin babies are fluffy brown and can take up to 13 months to fledge into their adult plumage.
