Penguins


Emporer-penguins
Genus Aptenodytes
Not threatened
256,000 breeding pairs


King penguin
Genus Aptenodytes
Least concern
1.1-1.2 million breeding pairs


Adelie penguin
Genus Pygoscelis
Increasing
1.1-1.2 million


Chinstrap penguin Genus Pygoscelis
8 million decreasing
Least concern


Gentoo penguin
4 subspecies
Genus Pygoscelis
Least concern
774,000


Little penguin 6 subspecies genus Eudyptula
470,000 least concern
photo credit Fir0002/Flagstaffotos


African penguin Deigo Delso 41700 decreasing


Galápagos Penguin (Spheniscus mendiculus)


Humboldt penguin


Magellanic penguin


Yellow-eyed Penguin


Erect crested penguin photo credit C00ch


Fiordland Crested Penguin photo credit travelwayoflife


Macaroni penguin by andrew shiva


Northern rhckhopper penguin photo credit Arjan Haverkamp


Southern Rockhopper_Penguin photo credit samual blanc


Royal Penguins by m murphy


Snares_Penguin_(Eudyptes_robustus) Lin Padgham

Penguins

All penguin species are found in the southern hemisphere. Those birds which lived around the north pole had to retain their ability to fly due to the polar bear (among other predators). However, the Antarctica is a vast island that is a long way from other land. As a result there are no land based predators.

While they are thought of as Antarctic species, they are found in a wide variety of places, and it is thought that the first penguin lived on New Zealand – another island which before humans arrived, was devoid of land predators, removing the need for birds to fly. In the tens of millions of years that have passed since then, penguins have become more varied, and while none have returned to the air (and all have similar shapes) they have become highly successful in a variety of different places on earth. There is one exception, which does not live in the Southern hemisphere, but has instead lives in the Galapagos islands

Below, I will include images of all species of penguin, and over time each will have a page added.

There are 18 species, spread across 6 genera, so I will include both the name and genera for each one. Photo credits will be made on each species page

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BUpU1AHBHI

See Animals Wild

Read more news

Join as a wild member
to list your wild place & log in

Join as an ambassador supporter to
support this site, help save wildlife
and make friends & log in

Join as an Associate member
to assist as a writer, creator, lister etc & to log in

List a wild destination

List a destination in
the shadow of man

List a hide for animals more easily seen this way

Highlight some news
missed, or submit a
one-off article

Browse destinations for fun or future travel

Temporary membership
start here if in a hurry

Casual readers and watchers