Have you ever wondered what do penguins eat? Not many people are aware of penguins’ feeding; therefore, I’ve decided to give up some of the most erratic facts regarding Penguins’ diet. Penguins are largely dependent on the sea creatures underneath water while swimming. There are several aquatic animals that penguins are very fond of, such as squid, fish, krill, and crustaceans. Amongst these organisms, fish covers more than 80% of penguins’ diet.
These flightless birds usually consume less fish in winter as compared to the summer. Emperor penguins also feed on cephalopods apart from the squid and lantern fish. Because these flightless birds travel too much, they need fat-oriented diet that helps them to gain strength and allow them to live for quite a few days without eating anything. These birds do not eat anything during the breeding season.
What do Penguins Eat
Penguins are flightless birds that belong to the family of Spheniscidae. These birds predominantly feed on aquatic animals. They are endemic to the Southern Hemisphere and commonly subsist near the equator. Since penguins travel too much during breeding season, they need to eat excessively to regain the strength and to survive without food quite a few days. These flightless birds are adaptable to the human presence and they are very fond of approaching humans. One of the reasons might be that these birds do not have any significant predators on land.
Gentoo penguins limit their diet to Antarctic Krill, lantern fish, glacial squid and Silverfish.
Read More: What do Adelie Penguins Eat?
Penguin Diet
- While Gentoo penguins feed on squid and lantern fish; little penguins are mainly dependent on squid for their nutrients. Because these little blue penguins do not dive too deep into the water, they tend to survive while eating squid only.
- Galapagos and African penguins usually feed on sardines, cuttlefish, cephalopodus, krill, squid, crustaceans, anchovies, and pilchards.
- Yellow-eyed penguins mainly focus on small fish for their diet fulfillment. Around 95% of these penguins’ diet is composed of fish.
- Crested, rockhopper, and royal penguins primarily feed on krill, squid, octopus, and crustaceans.
- King penguins predominantly feed on lantern fish together with squid.
- Well, now you can easily assess what do penguins eat!
