Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
There remain roughly 850,000 living pairs of Royal Penguins today. The survival of the species has never been severly threatened. The recent government restrictions and control of Macquarie Island should only benefit Eudyptes schlegeli.
The only fear that scientists have noted is the very limited distribution of the Royal Penguin. A natural disaster could jeopardize the species since breeding only occurs on Macquarie Island.
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: vulnerable
Today the Royal Penguin provides no real economic gain to humans. Perhaps one could count Eudyptes schlegeli's aesthetic beauty that is observed by tourists on the government protected Macquarie Island. In years past, the species were killed and boiled down for their oil (Royal 1998). Fortunately, today there are more effective ways of getting similar oils and Royal Penguins are no longer hunted.
The diet of Eudyptes schlegeli consists primarily of euphausiid (26%) and myctophid (52%). Other forms of nourishment come from small fish, squid, and various crustaceans. One interesting observation is that different colonies of the penguins on Macquarie Island (notably the east and west coasts) show significant variations in diet (Kerry 1997).
Royal Penguins are a migratory species. All Eudyptes schlegeli make residence on Macquarie Island during the breeding season. The island is located off the South of Australia in the Pacific. It is uncertain where they go during the non-breeding season. Sightings have ranged from Tasmania all the way to the Antarctic sector of the Southern Ocean (Kerry and Clippindale 1997).
Biogeographic Regions: australian (Native ); pacific ocean (Native )
The only certain habitat of Eudyptes schlegeli is on Macquarie Island. The surface of the island is covered with rock and small shrubs.
Royal Penguins are often confused with Macaroni Penguins (Eudyptes chrysolophus) (Barham & Barham date unknown). In fact, both of these species were at one time considered to be the same species (Kerry and Clippindale 1997). They are the largest of the crested penguins standing about 70 cm in height. Females are usually slightly smaller than males. Both have yellow/orange and black crests that run from their sides all the way to the tops of their heads. The one distinguishing difference between Royal Penguins and Macaroni Penguins is that Royals have white chins and the Macaroni Penguins have black chins (Kerry and Clippindale 1997).
Range mass: 4000 to 5000 g.
Average length: 70 cm.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Royal Penguins are monogamous (Waas et al. 2000). Reproduction only occurs on Macquarie Island from September to March. The season is marked when males arrive and begin building nests made out of grass and lined with small stones. The nests are easily distinguished from other crested penguin nests (Royal 1998). Females arrive in early October and lay eggs near the end of the month. Eudyptes schlegeli are known to breed in both large and small colonies. The largest colony is estimated to have around 500,000 pairs, while smaller colonies can contain a mere 70 to 200 pairs.
Two eggs are laid in the nest but only the second egg is incubated (Waas et al. 2000). Incubation takes approximately 30 to 40 days. When the chick hatches the male protects and raises it for 10 to 20 days. During this time the female penguin gathers and brings food to the nest daily. At an age of about 70 days, the chick is capable of leaving the nest and subsisting on its own. Royal Penguins reach sexual maturity in approximately one year (Royal 1998).
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; oviparous
