The Royal Penguin

The royal penguin lives on oceanic peninsulas and islands. Their population is settled in the borders between the Tierra de Fuego, Fr. Crozet, the Falkland Islands, as well as the territories that lie southwest of New Zealand and southeast of Australia. Penguins multiply in Antarctica, in the northern territories. Feed animals in the free from ice, clean water, on the shelf, and along the rocky coast. Young individuals are removed to a distance of hundreds of kilometers from the nearest colony, found in the open ocean. The population totals more than one million pairs.

There are different kinds of penguins. Among all the only two are the largest. These include the imperial and royal penguin. The second is somewhat smaller in size.

The body length of the royal penguin is from 94 centimeters to 1.36 meters. Its weight can reach sixteen kilograms. The royal penguin has a bright color, a rather long beak. It feeds on small water animals, which are quite numerous off the coast of the islands, and also by plankton. Some individuals consume crustaceans, others prefer fish.

Penguins hunt in groups. Adult individuals at the same time teach young animals hunting techniques and skills. Extraction of the royal penguin finds at a depth of ten to twenty meters from the ocean surface. Animals can spend up to forty minutes deep. They feed once every two weeks. In the intervals between feeding the penguins lose weight by half. Animals drink fresh and salt water. If there is no water, they eat snow.

Penguins are considered to be "public" birds. They live and reproduce in colonies. Animals perfectly swim and spend in water a significant part of their life. At the same time, they are able to pass over long distances overland. If necessary, penguins try to slide on the belly in the snow. The body temperature of the animals in the water decreases rapidly enough, so they become very active in order not to freeze. There are royal penguins most often in areas with a moderately cold climate. At the same time, they can be seen in mountainous, snowy or even icy regions. They live in such places, provided that there is enough food nearby.

Reaching puberty, penguins often become aggressive and quarrel. As a rule, disputes arise because of the territory that the pair defines for itself for reproduction.

Before the mating begins, the male, issuing trumpet sounds, takes menacing poses. Thus, he discourages rivals.

Reproduction is carried out in the summer. Egg laying starts in December-January. Royal penguins do not build nests. The female lays only one large enough egg. During incubation, the female and male are next to each other and sing "songs". On the same "song" they find each other, if they suddenly had to part. The duration of the incubation is fifty-four days. At penguins every three years there are two chicks. In the first year the young are next to their mother. In the summer the first egg is laid, next year by the end of summer - the second. In the third year, laying does not take place. Early chicks reach the size of adults by the beginning of autumn. Of those eggs that are postponed in a later period, often the chicks do not have time to hatch - they die with the arrival of frost. At such parents (whose children died) hormonal reorganization begins. As a result, they begin to multiply in November. As a rule, in this case the offspring grows without losses.

The royal penguins are hunted for feathers, fat and eggs. It should be noted that in the 1960s the populations of these animals were actively exterminated by hunters. Fishing is prohibited today.