King Penguin Festival - Antarctica

King Penguin Festival - Antarctica

King Penguins breed on the subantarctic islands between 45 and 55oS, at the northern reaches of Antarctica, as well as Tierra del Fuego, the Falkland Islands, and other temperate islands of the region. The total population is estimated to be 2.23 million pairs and is increasing.The largest breeding populations are on Crozet Island, with around 455,000 pairs, 228,000 pairs on the Prince Edward Islands, 240,000 - 280,000 on the Kerguelen Islands and over 100, 000 on the South Georgia Islands. Macquarie Island has around 70,000 pairs. The non-breeding range is poorly known though presumably the subantarctic waters of the southern Indian, South Atlantic and Asian part of the Southern Ocean. Vagrant birds have been recorded from the Antarctic peninsula as well as South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.