Aptenodytes patagonicus
Silhouette: Steven Traver · PhyloPic
The king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) is the second largest species of penguin, smaller than but somewhat similar in appearance to the emperor penguin. King penguins mainly eat lanternfish, squid, and krill. On foraging trips, king penguins repeatedly dive to over 100 metres (300 ft), and have been recorded at depths greater than 300 metres (1,000 ft). Predators of the king penguin include giant petrels, skuas, the snowy sheathbill, the leopard seal, and the orca.
The king penguin breeds on the subantarctic islands at the northern reaches of Antarctica, South Georgia, southern Argentina, and other temperate islands of the region. It also lives on Macquarie Island in the Southern Ocean and the Falkland Islands.
This bird was exploited commercially in the past for its blubber, oil, meat, and feathers. Today it is fully protected. In 1778, the English illustrator John Frederick Miller included a hand-coloured engraving of the king penguin in his Icones animalium et plantarum. He coined the binomial name Aptenodytes patagonica and specified the type locality as the Mari antarctico, the Antarctic Ocean. The locality was restricted to South Georgia by Gregory Mathews in...
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands | 🇬🇸 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands | |
| 2 | Falkland Islands | 🇫🇰 Falkland Islands | |
| 3 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zhuhai Chimelong Ocean Kingdom | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 2 | SeaWorld Orlando | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Chimelong Spaceship | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 4 | SeaWorld San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Pairi Daiza | 🇧🇪 Belgium | |
| 6 | Basel Zoo | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | |
| 7 | SeaWorld Abu Dhabi | 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates | |
| 8 | Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Zürich Zoo | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | |
| 10 | Antwerp Zoo | 🇧🇪 Belgium | |
| 11 | Whipsnade Zoo | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 12 | Taipei Zoo | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 13 | Kansas City Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 14 | SeaWorld San Antonio | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 15 | Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 16 | Detroit Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 17 | Leofoo Village Theme Park | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 18 | Hellabrunn Zoo | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 19 | Saint Louis Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 20 | Berlin Zoological Garden | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 21 | Edinburgh Zoo | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 22 | Calgary Zoo | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 23 | Moody Gardens | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 24 | Night Safari | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 25 | Indianapolis Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 26 | Sea World | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 27 | Singapore Zoo | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 28 | Melbourne Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 29 | ABQ BioPark Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 30 | Tierpark Hagenbeck | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 31 | Schönbrunn Zoo | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 32 | Zoo Atlanta | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 33 | Ueno Zoo | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 34 | Asahiyama Zoo | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 35 | Bird Paradise | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 36 | Faunia | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 37 | Riverbanks Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 38 | Rainforest Wild Asia | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 39 | Mar del Plata Aquarium | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 40 | Loro Parque | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 41 | Odense Zoo | 🇩🇰 Denmark | |
| 42 | Sydney Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 43 | Tokyo Sea Life Park | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 44 | Discovery Cove | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 45 | River Wonders | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 46 | Ueno Zoological Gardens (West Garden) | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 47 | Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 48 | L'Oceanogràfic | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 49 | Noboribetsu Marine Park Nixe | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 50 | Jungle Adventures | 🇺🇸 United States |
Very likely
About 90% of wildlife watchers report a King Penguin sighting in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands on a given day, based on 1,632 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the most-seen of the 37 birds we can rate there.
October to March
In those months about 90% of wildlife watchers report a King Penguin in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands on a given day, against about 60% in May and June, the lowest months. July and August have too few records to rate.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most King Penguin sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 3 parks where we can rate King Penguin sightings, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands has the highest daily chance: about 90%. Next come Falkland Islands (Falkland Islands, about 30%) and Table Mountain National Park (South Africa, under 5%).
Same family: Spheniscidae
The closest relatives of the King Penguin that you can see in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (family Spheniscidae, Penguins) are Gentoo Penguin (about 80%), Macaroni Penguin (about 40%) and Chinstrap Penguin (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the King Penguin is recorded against all the birds logged in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (1,632 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
