A.+patagonicus

KING PENGUIN

**Ocean Habitat:** The King Penguin lives in water's with an average temperature between 0 and 10 degrees celsius and with a salinity of about 34 to 34.5ppt. Some of the currents the King Penguin encounters all throughout it life include the South Pacific Current, South Atlantic Current, Antarctic Circumpolar Current, and the Antarctic Subpolar Current. Tides can reach up to 1.30 meters high daily in the AM. **Habitat:** These penguins establish breeding in cool temperate islands with low bare grounds such as beaches valleys and glacial moraines. They are both terrestrial and aquatic. Terrestrial while breeding in colonies and aquatic while finding food. In these colonies the tempature can be 10 degrees celcius and below. Rarley the King Penguins are found on snow or ice covered ground. They prefer to be by the sea at all times because fish is the important the food source. ** Where do they go? :**Aptenodytes patagonicus do not migrate, instead individuals travel hundreds of kilometers away from breeding grounds to find food **Population Increasing or decreasing?** : King penguins are starting to decrease in population because of the threat of global warming. **Reproduction and Parenting**: The king penguin has the longest breeding cycle of all the penguin species, lasting 14 to 16 months. A female king penguin may produce a chick during alternate breeding seasons. They can only lay 1 egg per season and takes 4-5 years old to both male and female to be mature enough to have babies. It takes about 9 months for the chick to be fully fledged and up to 14 months to become independent.  **What and how do they eat?** : these penguins hunt in groups traveling hundreds of kilometers to find food. During warm summery conditions they find food 10 to 200 meters below the ocean surface and in winter their prey move into deeper waters. Their diet is composed mostly of fish and cephalopods. **Predation :** King penguins are prey for leopard seals and killer whales that wait beneath the surface of the water. Shorebirds, such as skuas, sheathbills, and giant petrels, prey on king penguin eggs and young chicks while these are unattended by adults. **King Penguins Anatomy**: Penguins have a variety of bill shapes which are used to capture fish, krill and squid. The bill of a penguin tends to be long and thin in species that are primarily fish eaters, but shorter in species that mainly feed on krill. These penguins can drink salt water without ill effects because their supraorbital gland filters excess salt from the bloodstream. The salt is excreted in a concentrated fluid from the nasal passages and then is shaken off.
 * Genus: ** Aptenodytes
 * Species: ** Patagonicus
 * Common Name: ** King Penguin
 * Location of Ecosystem: ** The King Penguin is Native to several South American Countries and islands. These sites include, Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands located around 49 degress south latitude.
 * Population: ** 2,000,000 breeding pairs
 * How do they look? : ** silvery-grey back with a blackish-brown head decorated with striking ear patches of bright golden-orange feathers. They are similar in appearance to the Emperor penguin but can be identified by the orange coloring on their breasts, more slender bodies and longer bills. They wieght is about 20-30 pounds and 30 inches tall.
 * Economic Important of species: ** During the 19th and 20th centuries, poachers used king penguin oil, flesh, and eggs for fuel, food, and clothing. Laws against poaching were formed by the International Ornithological Congress in 1905 and by the Antarctic Treaty in 1959.
 * Conservation efforts: ** Their are really no efforts being made to save them because global warming hasnt really made such a big impact for them being distinct but maybe later on in life you will start to se a difference.
 * Solution: ** to save the King Penguins will need the help of everyone in the world help prevent from global warming and stop the polution aswell.