Stats

Lifespan: 15-20 yrs
Size: Medium
Diet: Carnivore
Activity: Diurnal
Social: Colony
Biome: Antarctic coast
Range: Antarctica
Movement: Swimming
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Speed
Status: Uncommon

About

The Gentoo Penguin is the fastest underwater swimmer among all penguin species, reaching speeds of up to 36 km/h; its distinctive white bonnet stripe running from eye to eye across the crown makes it instantly recognisable amid the sub-Antarctic colonies it inhabits.

Life cycle

1.
egg
A clutch of eggs is incubated in the nest, kept warm by a brooding parent until the chicks pip free.
2.
hatchling
A naked or downy hatchling is fed in the nest by its parents.
3.
juvenile
A feathered juvenile fledges from the nest and learns to fly and forage.
4.
adult
Fully grown with adult plumage.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Sphenisciformes
Family: Spheniscidae
Genus: Pygoscelis
Species: Pygoscelis papua