King Penguin
Aptenodytes patagonicus
Number Of Mature
Individuals (Regional)
160 000
Regional
Population Trend
Decreasing
2025
Regional Category
Near Threatened
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CONTENTSOverview
Names
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IOC English Name: |
King Penguin |
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SA & IOC Scientific Name: |
Aptenodytes patagonicus |
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BirdLife International Taxonomy (scientific name): |
Aptenodytes patagonicus |
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Order: |
SPHENISCIFORMES |
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Family: |
Spheniscidae |
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Species name author: |
Miller 1778 |
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Afrikaans: |
Koningpikkewyn |
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Sesotho (South Africa): |
Phenkwine ya tsebelamunu |
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Sesotho (Lesotho): |
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Siswati: |
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Zulu: |
Inguzenkulu |
Current Assessment Status
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2025 Regional Category [Criteria] |
NT [D2] |
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2024 Global Category [Criteria] |
LC |
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Population size (Regional) |
c. 80 000 annual breeding pairs |
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Population size (Global) |
1.1 million annual breeding pairs (BirdLife International 2020) |
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Distribution size (EOO) (Regional) km2 |
900 000 (breeding, foraging) |
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Distribution size (EOO) (Global) km2 |
9 220 000 (breeding/resident) |
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Distribution size (AOO) (Regional) km2 |
334 (breeding) |
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Generation time |
13.5 years (Bost et al. 2013) |
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Status change reason |
No Change |
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Migrant (in the region) |
Native, breeding and non-breeding visitor |
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Regional endemic |
No |
Historic Listing Information
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2000 Regional Status |
LC |
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2015 Regional Status |
NT [D2] |
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Status change reason (if applicable) |
Application of Criteria (Non-genuine) |
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2015 Population size (Regional) |
c. 90 000 pairs |
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2015 Global Status |
LC |
Reason for Inclusion
Reason for Inclusion in the Assessment
The species breeds on the Prince Edward Islands (PEIs) and was classified as regionally Near Threatened in 2015 (Dyer and Crawford 2015).
Category Justification
Category Justification
The regional population of King Penguin Aptenodytes patagonicus at the PEIs remains classified as Near Threatened under IUCN Red Listing Criterion D2. The population has a very restricted Area of Occupancy (AOO) such that it is prone to the effects of human activities or stochastic events within a very short time period in an uncertain future and is thus capable of becoming Critically Endangered or even Extinct in a very short time period (Dyer and Crawford 2015). However, although within the region it only breeds at two islands, there are 13 discrete localities at these islands that are regularly occupied for nesting, which reduces the likelihood that stochastic events or human activities at the PEIs would lead to this species becoming Critically Endangered or even Extinct within one to two generations. Nonetheless, the majority of the population nests at two localities (Kildalkey Bay and King Penguin Bay) on Marion Island (Crawford et al. 2003). Climate change poses a potential future threat to the species, with the highest emissions scenario resulting in the Prince Edward Islands becoming unsuitable habitat (Cristofari et al. 2018). If the population is found to be likely to die out within 100 years rather than to relocate, the species will be a candidate for uplisting according to Criterion A3.
Population Justification
The global population of King Penguins decreased markedly during the 19th and early 20th centuries, probably as a result of human exploitation, before increasing again (Bost et al. 2013). In 2015, it was estimated at c. 1.6 million annual breeding pairs (range 1.58 – 1.73 million) (Bost et al. 2013). In 2023, following a loss of c. 440 000 pairs at Ile aux Cochons in the Crozet Islands to unknown causes (Weimerskirch et al. 2018), the global population was considered to be c. 1.1 million pairs, but thought to be increasing (BirdLife International 2020). At Marion Island, between 2018/19 and 2022/23 the annual breeding population was c. 78 000 pairs (Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment, DFFE, unpubl data). At Prince Edward Island, about 3000 birds bred in 2001/02 (Ryan et al. 2003) and about 2000 pairs in 2008/09 (Crawford et al. 2009). Assuming that numbers at Prince Edward Island have remained the same as in 2008/09, the overall annual breeding population at the PEIs is c. 80 000 pairs.
Trend Justification
Based on aerial photographs taken in March, Siegfried et al. (1978), estimated numbers of King Penguins breeding annually at Marion Island to be c. 215 000 pairs. Correcting this to account for absenteeism of breeders (c. 26%), van Heezik et al. (1994) considered the overall population during 1974-1977 to be c. 270 000 pairs. The estimate of 215 000 pairs breeding annually was considered also applicable to the 1980s by Cooper and Brown (1990). There must have been at least 100 000 pairs breeding in 1997 and 1999, because equivalent numbers of chicks survived their winter fast in those years (Crawford et al. 2003). Between 2008/09 and 2011/12, estimates of annual numbers breeding were made by counting incubating adults and chicks at smaller colonies, and by counting incubators and chicks in subsections of two large colonies (Kildalkey Bay and King Penguin Bay), sometimes on photographs, gauging the proportions of the overall areas of the colonies covered by the subsections and extrapolating the counts by the proportions (Crawford et al. 2009). In this period, estimates of annual numbers breeding averaged 69 400 pairs (± 3400 pairs, n=4, Dyer and Crawford 2015), equivalent to an overall population of c. 87 000 pairs. Between 2018/19 and 2022/23, annual numbers breeding averaged 78 400 pairs (± 21 900 pairs, n=4, DFFE unpubl data), equivalent to an overall population of c. 99 000 pairs. These values suggest that the population at Marion Island decreased by c. 63% between 1976/77 and 2022/23 (46 years), or by 1.37% pa, age at first breeding (A) of King Penguins is three years and adult survival (ϕa) varies from 0.83–0.98 pa (Bost et al. 2013). Given G = A + (1 / (1 − ϕa)) (Birdlife International 2000), A=3 and using the median value for ϕa (0.905), G = c. 13.5 years. Hence the decrease over 3G was 55%. However, since the methods applied to estimate numbers in the 1970s and during the present century were dissimilar, the accuracy of this decline is uncertain.
Counts of King Penguin chicks surviving to the end of winter (September or October) were made in a consistent manner in 21 years between 1987 and 2011. They averaged 51 900 ± 21 715 and there was no significant trend over time (Crawford et al. 2009). Therefore, unless there was a trend in the proportion of chicks surviving to the end of winter, the overall population at Marion Island was stable between the late 1980s and 2011, and it has since shown no discernible trend.
Biology & Ecology
Taxonomy
The genus Aptenodytes includes two species: Emperor Penguin A. forsteri and King Penguin A. patagonicus. Two subspecies of the latter have been recognized in the past, based on bill and wing length: the nominate A. p. patagonicus in the south-west Atlantic Ocean and A. p. halli at island groups in the south Indian Ocean and south of New Zealand, including the PEIs (del Hoyo et al. 1992).
Identification
94–95 cm; 9–15 kg. A tall penguin (the world’s second largest penguin after the Emperor Penguin), with a long, pointed orange-based bill. Adults blue-black above and white below. There are dusky yellow filoplumes on the crown, and two orange ear-patches on the sides of the head, narrowing onto the neck where the colour diffuses onto the throat and upper breast. Bill black with orange or pink plate on lower mandible. Eyes brown. Feet black. Immature duller overall and with dull yellow, not orange ear-patches and all-black bill (Del Hoyo et al. 1992).
Distribution
A. p. patagonicus breeds at Staten Island, the Falkland Islands and South Georgia in the south-west Atlantic Ocean and occurs off the coast of South America, including southern Argentina, during winter. A. p. halli breeds at the PEIs (South Africa), Crozet Islands, Kerguelen Islands (France) and Heard Island (Australia) in the south Indian Ocean, and at Macquarie Island (Australia) south of New Zealand (del Hoyo et al. 1992). Stragglers have reached the coasts of Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa (Marchant and Higgins 1990, del Hoyo et al. 1992). The species was exterminated from the Falkland Islands by c. 1870 and from Heard Island by 1948, but both localities have subsequently been recolonised (del Hoyo et al. 1992).
At South Africa’s PEIs, the species breeds regularly at 13 distinct colonies, which are located around the islands’ edges: 10 at Marion Island (Crawford et al. 2003) and three at Prince Edward Island (Ryan et al. 2003). Sporadic breeding events involving <100 pairs have been recorded at five other localities at Marion Island (Crawford et al. 2009, Dyer and Crawford 2015). Prince Edward and Marion islands have surface areas of about 45 km2 and 290 km2, respectively. Therefore, the AOO of King Penguins at the PEIs will be <335 km2, the sum of these areas. In winter, adults move as far west at Bouvet Island, averaging about 1600 km from Marion Island, to obtain food for their chicks, mostly operating within the latitudinal belt between that stretches c. 555 km between 50° and 55°S (Pistorius et al. 2017). Their Extent of Occurrence at this time would be up to 0.9 million km2.
Ecology
King Penguins breed on relatively flat beaches without ice or snow that provide easy access to the sea (del Hoyo et al. 1992). At Marion Island, numbers of adults at colonies increase rapidly between September and late October. Most King Penguins moult from October to February and laying takes place from late November to February, the date being influenced by the outcome of the previous breeding attempt (du Plessis et al. 1994). King Penguins incubate a single egg, brooding the small chicks on their feet (Marchant and Higgins 1990). Incubation is by both sexes and lasts 52–56 days, with stints of 12–21 days (del Hoyo et al. 1992). At Marion Island, chicks hatch between late January and mid-April (du Plessis et al. 1994). The overall breeding period, from laying to chick fledging, lasts about 13.5 months (du Plessis et al. 1994), so that only two successful breeding cycles are possible per pair every three years (del Hoyo et al. 1992). Breeding success is 30–50% and birds attain sexual maturity at about three years old (Bost et al. 2013). King Penguins feed mainly on myctophids and squids (del Hoyo et al. 1992). At Marion Island, fish accounted for 87% of the wet mass of food (Adams and Klages 1987). In winter, birds often move west of the island to feed, some reaching the Atlantic Ocean (Pistorius et al. 2017). King Penguins may dive up to 440 m although mean dive depths are between 100 and 200 m (Bost et al. 2013).
Threats & Conservation
Threats
Antarctic Fur Seals Arctocephalus gazella predate King Penguins at Marion Island and their populations have increased at both Marion and Prince Edward islands (Hofmeyr et al. 2006, Bester et al. 2009). Seal predation is particularly heavy at two colonies at Marion Island: Good Hope Bay and Kildalkey Bay (Dyer and Crawford 2015). Giant petrels Macronectes spp. may take substantial numbers of eggs and chicks. By contrast, the impacts of Lesser Sheathbills Chionis minor and Subantarctic Skuas Stercorarius antarcticus are probably relatively minor (Dyer and Crawford 2015). An unknown disease killed 250 – 300 King Penguins at Good Hope Bay in late October 1992 (Cooper et al. 2009). Disturbance from helicopter flights may cause some breeding failure or lead pairs to relocate to alternative breeding sites. Insufficient food may decrease adult survival (Olsson and van der Jeugd 2002). Fisheries potentially compete with King Penguins for food at some localities (Moore et al. 1998). Climate change may alter distributions of prey and their availability. Large-scale climatic anomalies in the Southern Hemisphere shifted the foraging zone of King Penguins that bred at the Crozet Islands southward, causing those birds to forage farther from their colony at increased depths and decreasing their population (Bost et al. 2015). Modelling the worst-case greenhouse gas concentration trajectory on the distribution of King Penguins suggested the species may cease to breed at some of its northern localities, including the PEIs, by 2100 (Cristofari et al. 2018).
Conservation Measures Underway
At Marion Island, no helicopter movement is permitted above King Penguin colonies but helicopter flight paths sometimes stray near to colonies (Dyer and Crawford 2015). There are strict guidelines in place for offloading diesel. A contingency plan is in place to guide responses to outbreaks of disease at the PEIs. No access is allowed to Prince Edward Island except for bona fide research and conservation purposes. The PEIs are listed as a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance and as a Special Nature Reserve under the Environment Conservation Act (No 73 of 1989), a status that was maintained under the National Environmental Management Protected Areas Act of 2003. They are managed under the Prince Edward Islands Management Plan of 2010. The Prince Edward Islands Marine Protected Area was proclaimed in 2013.
Conservation Measures Proposed
Best-practice guidelines for reducing risk of disease outbreaks at islands are being developed by the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels; once available, these guidelines should be implemented. Overwintering research teams should be given basic training in the rescue and rehabilitation of oiled penguins. The impact of any proposed fishery on the prey of King Penguins should be carefully assessed before such a fishery is allowed. Consideration should be given to declaring marine protected areas at important feeding grounds of King Penguins.
Research Priorities and Questions
- Climate models of King Penguin distribution under different emission scenarios are needed to show how regional habitat quality may change in the future – expanding on Cristofari et al. (2018).
- More information is required on the foraging distributions of breeding King Penguins from the PEIs during summer. Information is also required on the foraging distributions of immature birds and non-breeders.
- Estimates of immature and adult survival and age at breeding are required for King Penguins at the PEIs, and more information on breeding success, breeding participation and breeding frequency would be helpful.
- An assessment of mortality rates attributable to seals, giant petrels and skuas should be undertaken.
- In addition to an updated assessment, counts of King Penguins at Prince Edward Island during January – April are needed, because breeders may arrive at colonies after December (du Plessis et al. 1994).
Contributors & References
Assessor/s
Azwianewi B Makhado, Robert JM Crawford
Reviewer/s
Pierre Pistorius
References
Adams NJ, Klages NT[W]. 1987. Seasonal variation in the diet of the king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) at sub-Antarctic Marion Island. Journal of Zoology, London 212: 313–334.
Bester MN, Ryan PG, Visagie J. 2009. Summer survey of fur seals at Prince Edward Island, southern Indian Ocean. African Journal of Marine Science 36: 451–455.
BirdLife International 2000. Threatened birds of the world. Lynx Edicions; Barcelona.
BirdLife International 2020. Aptenodytes patagonicus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: e.T22697748A184637776. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697748A184637776.en. [Accessed on 17 January 2025].
Bost CA, Delord K, Barbraud C, Cheryl Y, Pütz K, Cotté, C, Peron C, Weimerskirch H. 2013. The King Penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus). In: Garcia Borboroglu P, Boersma PD (eds), Penguins Natural History and Conservation. Seattle and London: University of Washington Press. pp 7–21.
Bost CA, Cotté C, Terray P, Barbraud C, Bon C, Delord K, Giminez O, Handrich Y, Naito Y, Guinet C, Weimerskirch H. 2015. Large-scale climatic anomalies affect marine predator foraging behaviour and demography. Nature Communications 6: 8220.
Cooper J, Brown CR. 1990. Ornithological research at the sub-Antarctic Prince Edward Islands: a review of achievements. South African Journal of Antarctic Research 20: 40–57.
Cooper J, Crawford RJM, de Villiers MS, Dyer BM, Hofmeyr GJG, Jonker A. 2009. Disease outbreaks among penguins at sub-Antarctic Marion Island: a conservation concern. Marine Ornithology 37: 193–196.
Crawford RJM, Cooper J, Dyer BM, Greyling MD, Klages NTW, Ryan PG, Petersen SL, Underhill LG, Upfold L, Wilkinson W, de Villiers MS, du Plessis S, du Toit M, Leshoro TM, Makhado AB, Mason M, Merkle D, Tshingana D, Ward VL, Whittington PA. 2003. Populations of surface-nesting seabirds at Marion Island, 1994/95–2002/03. African Journal of Marine Science 25: 427–440.
Crawford RJM, Whittington PA, Upfold L, Ryan PG, Petersen SL, Dyer BM, Cooper J. 2009. Recent trends in four species of penguin at the Prince Edward Islands. African Journal of Marine Science 31: 419–426.
Cristofari R, Liu X, Bonadonna F, Cherel Y, Pistorius P, Le Maho Y, Raybaud V, Stenseth NC, Le Bohec C, Trucchi E. 2018. Climate-driven range shifts of the king penguin in a fragmented ecosystem. Nature Climate Change 8: 245–251.
del Hoyo J, Elliott A, Sargatal J. 1992. Handbook of the Birds of the World, Vol. 1. Barcelona, Spain: Lynx Edicions.
Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE). 2024. Media statement Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment on High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza suspected on sub-Antarctic Marion Island. https://www.gov.za/news/media-statements/forestry-fisheries-and-environment-high-pathogenicity-avian-influenza [Accessed on 11 March 2025].
du Plessis CJ, van Heezik YM, Seddon PJ. 1994. Timing of King Penguin breeding at Marion Island. Emu 94: 216–219.
Dyer BM, Crawford RJM. 2015. King Penguin Aptenodytes patagonicus. In: Taylor MR, Wanless RM and Peacock F (eds), The Eskom Red Data Book of Birds of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. Johannesburg: BirdLife South Africa. pp 333–335.
Hofmeyr GJG, Bester MN, Makhado AB, Pistorius PA. 2006. Population changes in Subantarctic and Antarctic fur seals at Marion Island. South African Journal of Wildlife Research 36: 55–68.
Marchant S, Higgins PJ (co-ordinators). 1990. Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds. 1. Ratites to Ducks. Oxford University Press; Melbourne: 1400 pp.
Moore GJ, Robertson G, Weineke B. 1998. Food requirements of breeding King Penguins at Heard Island and potential overlap with commercial fisheries. Polar Biology 20: 293–302.
Olsson O, van der Jeugd HP. 2002. Survival in King Penguins Aptenodytes patagonicus: temporal variability and sex-specific effects of environmental variability. Oecologia 132: 509–516.
Pistorius PA, Hindell MA, Crawford RJM, Makhado AB, Dyer BM, Reisinger RRR. 2017. At-sea distribution and habitat use in king penguins at sub-Antarctic Marion Island. Ecology and Evolution 27: 3894–3903.
Ryan PG, Cooper J, Dyer BM, Underhill LG, Crawford RJM, Bester MN. 2003. Counts of surface-nesting seabirds breeding at subantarctic Prince Edward Island, summer 2001/02. African Journal of Marine Science 25: 441–451.
Siegfried WR, Williams AJ, Burger AE, Berruti A. 1978. Mineral and energy contributions of eggs of selected species of seabirds to the Marion Island terrestrial ecosystem. South African Journal of Antarctic Research 8: 75–87.
van Heezik YM, Seddon PJ, Cooper J, Plös AL. 1994. Interrelationships between breeding frequency, timing and outcome in King Penguins Aptenodytes patagonicus: are King Penguins biennial breeders? Ibis 136: 279–284.
Weimerskirch H, Le Bouard F, Ryan PG, Bost CA. 2018. Massive decline of the world’s largest king penguin colony at Ile aux Cochons, Crozet. Antarctic Science 30: 236–242.
Citation
Makhado AB, Crawford RJM 2025. King Penguin. In: Lee ATK, Rose S, Banda S, Bezeng SB, Maphalala MI, Maphisa DH, Smit-Robinson H (eds), The 2025 Red Data Book of Birds of South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini. Johannesburg, South Africa: BirdLife South Africa. Available at: https://www.birdlife.org.za/red-list/king-penguin/
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