Penguins are very nice little animals, which will always attract our attention, due to their graceful walk and the elegance of their fur, since, despite being birds, they do not have feathers, but surely you do not know what the penguin feeding, keep reading this post to find out about it.
What did the penguins eat?
Penguins are absolutely amazing animals, in terms of their diet, we tell you that they have different feeding habits, which will depend on the species and the place on earth where they live, so we want to review the different species of penguins that exist and what their special eating habits are.
How is the Feeding of Penguins according to the species?
Regarding the question about what penguins eat, the first thing we have to tell you is that, as a general rule, they feed on fish and small crustaceans called krill. Penguin diets typically include krill, which is a species of crustacean that closely resembles shrimp, squid and fish, although each species of penguin will exhibit food preferences that may be slightly different.
With this, what has been achieved is to reduce the competition between the species for the feeding of the penguins, favoring their permanence in the same habitat, although they are from different families, at the same time as their survival. In a final section of this post we are going to show you what the penguins feed on depending on their species.
The smaller penguin species that live in the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic feed essentially on krill and squid, and the species found further north tend to feed more on fish.
Adélie penguins feed essentially on small krill, while the chinstrap prefers to eat large krill, meanwhile, emperor and king penguins feed essentially on fish and squid.
Quantity of food in the feeding of the Penguins
The amount goes to several, in terms of volume and variety of food, depending on what is available in the different areas in which they are found and at the times of the year to which we are referring. The entire population of Adélie penguins can consume as much as 1.500.000.000 kg, which is the equivalent of 1.500.000 metric tons, of krill, 115.000.000 kg, which is about 115.000 metric tons of fish, and about 3.500.000 kg, which is about 3.500 metric tons of squid per year.
How does a penguin eat?
The usual thing is that the penguins feed in the sea. Most of them hunt between 15,3 and 18,3 m, which is about 50 to 60 feet, from the sea surface. The situation in which the dam is found can change according to the season of the year in which we are, and even depending on the time of day.
Penguins get invaluable help from their vision while hunting their prey. It is not yet known how penguins locate their prey in the dark of night, or when they descend to great depths.
Several scientists suspect that penguins are also helped by the ability of many ocean squid, some crustaceans and fish to produce light by bioluminescence. Penguins now catch their prey in their beaks and swallow them whole while swimming. Penguins have a tongue that is covered with small spikes, with which it is easier for them to capture slippery prey very easily.
The different species of penguins make long journeys from the areas where their colonies are located in search of areas to hunt. This distance can vary depending on the species in question.
The Adelie can move about 15 km, which is about 9 miles, from its colony, and the ones that are able to travel the furthest to hunt are the king penguins that can travel up to 900 km, equivalent to about 559 miles, to find food . Emperor penguins can range from 164 to 1.454 kilometers, which is the equivalent of a distance of between 102 to 903 miles.
Species and Food
Let's distinguish the classes and the feeding mode of the penguins:
Emperor penguin
- Species Aptenodytes forsteri
- Size 112 in. (44 cm), 27-41 lb. (60-90 kg)
- Its habitat is on the Antarctic continent, inside the limits of the ice pack.
- Their prey are fish and squid
- Their predators are leopard seals, killer whales and skuas.
- The current population is around 238.000 breeding pairs
King Penguin
- Species Aptenodytes patagonicus
- Size 94 in. (37 cm), 13.5-16 lb. (30-35 kg)
- Their habitat is on sub-Antarctic islands and peninsulas, they generally feed in ice-free waters.
- Their prey are squid and fish
- Predators are leopard seals, skuas, giant petrels, gulls and Antarctic pigeons
- The current population is approximately 2.000.000 adults
adelie penguin
- SpeciesPygoscelis adeliae
- Size 46-61 in. (18-24 cm), 3.5-4.5 lb. (8-10 kg)
- Its habitat is on the Antarctic continent, inside the limits of the ice pack.
- Their prey is mainly krill, but they also feed on squid and fish.
- Predators are leopard seals, skuas and Antarctic pigeons
- Its population is approximately 2.370.000 couples
gentoo penguin
- Species Pygoscelis papua
- Size 61-76 in. (24-30 cm), 5.5-6.5 lb. (12-14 kg)
- Its habitat is in subantarctic and antarctic waters; usually avoids the ice pack and continental coasts, except for those near the Antarctic Peninsula
- Their prey are krill and squid.
- Predators are skuas, leopard seals, Antarctic fur seals and sea lions
- Its current population is around 387.000 pairs
Chinstrap Penguin
- SpeciesPygoscelis antarcticus
- Size 46-61 in. (18-24 cm), 4 lb. (9 kg)
- Its habitat is found in the Antarctic and South American islands.
- Their prey is usually krill and small fish
- The usual predators are leopard seals, skuas and Antarctic pigeons.
- The current population is approximately 8.000.000 adults
Rockhopper Penguin
- Species southern rockhopper, Eudyptes chrysocome northern rockhopper, Eudyptes moseleyi
- Size 41-46 in. (16-18 cm), 2.5-5 lb. (6 kg)
- Its habitat is in the subantarctic islands, which are south of the Falkland Islands and the islands of Chile and Argentina; in the South Atlantic Ocean on Gough Island and the Tristan da Cunha Islands and also in the southern Indian Ocean and the São Paulo Islands.
- Their prey is usually fish, squid and krill.
- Predators are sea lions, skuas and seagulls
- Its current population is around 1.500.000 pairs
royal penguin
- Species Eudyptes schlegeli
- Size 66-76 in. (26-30 cm), 5.5 lb. (12 kg)
- Its habitat is on Macquarie, Bishop and Clerk which are islands in the Southern Ocean.
- Their prey are squid and krill
- Predators are seals, skuas and giant petrels
- Its current population is close to 850.000 couples; most of the population lives on Macquarie Island
Antipodean Penguin
- Species Eudyptes sclateri
- Size 64 in. (25 cm), 2.5-3.5 lb. (6-8 kg)
- Its habitat is in the Antipodes and the Bounty Islands of New Zealand.
- Their prey are squid and fish
- Predators are sea lions and sea lions
- Its current population is around 130.000 to 140.000 adult individuals.
rockhopper penguin
- Species Eudyptes chrysolophus
- Size 51-61 in. (20-24 cm), 4.5 lb. (10 kg)
- Its habitat is found on the subantarctic islands in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
- Their prey are squid and krill
- Predators are leopard seals, Antarctic fur seals, skuas and Antarctic pigeons
- Its population today is about 9 million couples.
fiordland penguin
- Species Eudyptes pachyrhynchus
- Size 61 in. (24 cm), 2.5-3 lb. (6-7 kg)
- Its habitat is in the subantarctic islands and New Zealand.
- Their prey is usually small fish, crustaceans and cuttlefish.
- Predators are seals, stoats, which are relatives of weasels, and weka, which are railroad birds.
- Its current population is estimated between 5.000 and 6.000 adults
Snares Penguin
- Species Eudyptes robustus
- Size 64 in. (25 cm), 2.5-3 lb. (6-7 kg)
- Its habitat is south of New Zealand in the Snares Islands (all within 3 square km)
- Their prey is usually krill, squid and fish.
- Predators are sea lions
- Its population is currently over 62.000 adults
yellow eyed penguin
- Species Megadyptes antipodes
- Size 76 in. (30 cm), 6 lb. (3 kg)
- Its habitat is in southeastern New Zealand.
- Their usual prey are fish and squid.
- The predators are the sea lions and the predators in the area that attack the chicks
- The current population is estimated between 5930 and 6.970 adult individuals
Magellanic Penguin
- SpeciesSpheniscus magellanicus
- Size 61-71 in. (24-28 cm), 5 lb. (11 kg)
- Its habitat is found in the Malvinas Islands and on the coasts of Chile and Argentina.
- Their prey is usually small fish and cuttlefish.
- Predators are sea lions, leopard seals and Patagonian foxes
- The current population is approximately 1.300.000 couples
Cape Penguin
- SpeciesSpheniscus demersus
- Size 61-71 in. (24-28 cm), 3 lb. (7 kg)
- Its habitat is in the waters of South Africa
- Their prey is normally, above all, anchovies and sardines, but also other fish, squid and crustaceans.
- Predators include fur seals, southern sea lions, octopuses, sharks, sacred ibis, and gulls
- Its current population is estimated at over 52.000 adults
blue penguin
- Species Eudyptula minor
- Size 41–45 cm (16–19 in.), about 1 kg (2 lb.)
- Its habitat is in southern Australia and New Zealand.
- Their prey is usually small fish.
- Predators are sea lions, seals, dogs, cats, ferrets and stoats
- The current population is estimated to be less than 1 million in Australia
Humboldt penguin
- Species Spheniscus humboldti
- Size 56-66 in. (22-26 cm), 4 lb. (9 kg)
- Its habitat is found on the islands of western South America, and along the coasts of Peru and Chile.
- Their prey is anchovies, which is a kind of small fish
- Predators are sharks and sea lions
- The current population is approximately between 2.500 and 9.999 adult individuals
Galapagos Penguin
- SpeciesSpheniscus mendiculus
- Size 53 cm (21 in.), about 2.5 kg (5-6 lb.)
- Its habitat is in the Galapagos Islands.
- Their prey is usually small fish.
- Predators include sharks, barn owls, hawks, feral cats, and dogs
- The current population is estimated at over 1.200 adults
What predators eat penguins?
In the area of Antarctica, which is where most of the penguins live, the main predator of the penguins is a marine mammal that is very fierce and has huge teeth, we are referring to the leopard seal. Due to the existence of this great predator, the penguins have to swim very fast so that they can escape from the leopard seals that will always try to hunt them while they are in the water, that is why they have had to become very good swimmers if not they want to perish.
Great Skuas, also called skuas, eat baby penguins and sometimes steal penguin eggs from their nests. Sharks and killer whales are another predatory threat to some types or species of penguins that live in waters that are warmer.
If you liked this article, you probably also want to read: