A new individual to the King Penguin colony of our Zoo's Ice World Interactive Exhibiton.
The 2-year-old male came from the Wuppertal Zoo and has already joined the team of 4 penguins. Our zookeepers have named the animal Grape (Szőlő), because, in keeping with our tradition, the animals have fruit names :-)
King penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) are the second largest penguin species in the world, often mistaken for their larger relatives, the emperor penguins, because of their size and elegant appearance. They average 90 cm tall and weigh 11-16 kg. They are characterised by black and white plumage with golden-yellowish tones on their chests - a distinctive colour scheme that makes them particularly striking.
Their native habitat is the coast of islands in the Southern Ocean, where they live in large colonies. Although they cannot fly, they are excellent swimmers: they can travel long distances underwater in search of food, mostly fish, squid and other marine life.
