Kelly Tarlton's King Penguins

In 1994, our original King Penguins arrived on special charter flights from the Sea World aquariums in San Antonio, Texas, USA. We have some real characters amongst the colony. One of our 'biggest' personalities is 'Toddy'. He’s the darling amongst staff, who have composed a special song which they sing to him. 'Toddy' replies with a loud, appreciative trumpet. He's very cool!

King Fast Facts

• Scientific Name: Aptenodytes patagonicus
• The King is the second largest of the 17 species of Penguin [the largest is the Emperor Penguin]
• Kings are easily recognisable by their distinctive yellow markings
• Our Kings weigh between 15-20 kgs [averaging 16 kgs] and are about 85-95cms tall [this is the same as Kings in the wild]
• Early explorers thought King chicks, with their thick brown fluffy down, were a different species to the adults naming them the ‘Woolly Penguin’.
• King penguins feed mainly on small fish, squid and crustaceans. Each bird will eat on average 10 to 14% of its body weight in fish per day. Our birds love to eat herring, sprats, salmon, mussels and squid.
• In the wild, King penguins range from the sub-Antarctic Islands, right down to the Antarctic Peninsula.
• They have a lifespan of 17-22 years; generally longer in captivity.

King Breeding

• The King penguin breeding season starts from November and runs through to April.
• Kings reach sexual maturity at approximately 3 years of age, and lay a single egg.
• Instead of making a nest like most birds, Kings incubate their egg 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. 
• Chicks are fed partially digested fish that is regurgitated by parents to the chick.
• King penguin babies can take up to 13 months to fledge but they generally do so within 8-10 months. This is when they replace their fluffy brown down with sleek adult feathers.