testmeat photoblog

king penguins have an interesting breeding cycle which usually lasts around 14 months. after they lay and guard the egg they protect and rear the chicks for a little over a month. after that the chicks are moved into a creche where the parents will often leave them for extended periods of time to fend for themselves. the chicks are unable to forage for food themselves so they slowly starve while waiting for their parents to return and top them up with food. it can be as much as 3 months between feeds, and because the adults only feed their own young, the chicks are super reliant on these family visits. because these king penguins can only breed every couple of years, the colony at st andrews bay had plenty of adults and chicks in different stages of their cycles. this included plenty of hungry kids running around and calling out for their parents.

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