Most species of penguin are piscivores, meaning their diets consist of fish. For some animals, like the African penguin, it’s important to have a lot of small, nutrient-dense fish like anchovies and pilchards to help them get through a fasting period (when they don’t eat for weeks while their feathers grow) and to feed their young healthy food.
When nutrient-rich fish that are easy to catch are hard to come by, like they are now because of overfishing and climate change in South Africa, penguins have to switch to other fish species. The Atlantic horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus) and the pelagic goby (Sufflogobius bibarbatus) are two examples of fish that penguins can easily get, but they don’t have all the nutrients they need. Eating these fish means the penguins need to spend more time hunting and consume even more than before.
Small migratory fish are less common in Antarctic and sub-Antarctic waters, so penguins have learned to eat crustaceans like krill instead. For example, the Adélie and chinstrap penguins eat krill all the time. Even though African penguins are generalists and can eat shrimp if they have to, this is not a healthy diet for them and they are not adapted to hunting this kind of prey like northern rockhoppers are (the species of rockhoppers we have here at the Aquarium).
Even though they are low in calories, at least four species of penguins—the Magellanic, the Adélie, the yellow-eyed, and the little penguin—will eat jellyfish even when there are other, more nutritious foods around. Scientists think that it’s possible that penguins get a nutrient from jellyfish that they can’t get from other foods, like collagen, or that the penguins only eat carnivorous jellyfish, eating all the tiny animals that the jellyfish have caught.
Anchovy is a very oily fish that has a lot of calories. But when penguins migrate in large groups, eating nearby squid saves them a lot of energy, which more than makes up for their hunger. Gentoo, rockhopper, and emperor penguins all regularly eat squid that are migrating during certain times of the year. Our own African penguin will also eat squid when it gets the chance.
Penguins are unique birds that live in the Southern Hemisphere and depend on the ocean for their survival. As flightless birds penguins have evolved to be excellent swimmers and hunters, using their wings as flippers to propel themselves through the water in search of fish. But what exactly do penguins eat when it comes to fish? The penguin diet actually consists of a diverse array of marine life, with fish making up a significant portion.
An Overview of the Penguin Diet
Penguins are carnivores, meaning they eat only meat. The main components of a penguin’s diet are fish, krill, squid and other seafood they can hunt in the ocean. Penguins swallow their food whole, regurgitating it later to feed their young. The proportion of each food type depends on the penguin species, their habitat and the season. Larger penguins rely more heavily on fish, while smaller penguins eat more krill and squid. During summer when food is plentiful, penguins eat daily. In winter, the males fast while guarding the eggs as females spend months hunting. Overall, the average penguin consumes about 2 pounds of food per day.
Small Fish Are Key for Small Penguin Species
The smallest penguin species, including the Little Penguin, Blue Penguin and Fairy Penguin, measure around 12 inches tall and weigh only 2-3 pounds. For them, small fish like anchovies, sardines and juvenile cod are a key part of their diet. These types of bait fish form large schools, allowing the small penguins to easily capture them. The fish provide necessary protein and nutrients to maintain their energy. Small squid and krill round out their diet.
Larger Penguins Prefer Larger Prey
Bigger penguin species like the King, Gentoo and Macaroni Penguins grow up to 3 feet tall and weigh 15-25 pounds. They hunt larger, meatier fish to support their size. Some favorites are lanternfish, hake and herring. Emperor Penguins are the largest of all, standing over 4 feet tall and weighing up to 90 pounds. Their diet is almost exclusively Antarctic silverfish and cod, which provide enough calories and fat to endure their harsh frozen habitat.
How Penguins Hunt for Fish
Penguins have many adaptations that make them effective fish hunters including
- Streamlined bodies and flippers to swim 25 mph
- Special glands filter excess salt from their blood, allowing them to drink seawater
- Excellent vision underwater thanks to an extra transparent eyelid
- Quick reflexes and sharp, backward-facing claws to grab slippery fish
- Pointed bills and spiked tongues help them swallow fish whole
Penguins can dive over 300 feet deep and stay underwater for up to 20 minutes while hunting. Some use their feet like rudders to steer through the water in pursuit of speedy fish. After catching multiple fish on a deep dive, they return to the surface to gulp air before diving again.
Fish Availability Changes By Season
During summer when food is abundant, penguins fatten up by eating fish daily. But in winter, hunting becomes more challenging. Penguin parents take turns leaving the nest to hunt while the mate stays behind to warm the eggs. The fathers fast for months at a time, living off their fat reserves while the females spend weeks diving for fish to bring back to the chicks. Migration patterns shift the types of fish available as some species of fish move to deeper waters or warmer northern regions when winter hits. Penguins are adaptable and move as needed to follow the fish supply.
Impact of Commercial Fishing on Penguin’s Food Supply
One major threat to penguins having adequate access to fish is competition with commercial fishing operations. Some species have become endangered as large-scale fishing vessels depleted fish stocks in traditional penguin hunting ranges. Several conservation efforts now aim to protect critical habitats and restrict fishing in key areas. But environmental changes still put pressure on penguins to travel further or switch prey species when fish become scarce. Providing sustainable fish sources is crucial for the survival of penguin populations.
Follow the March of the penguin:
If you missed the QR code tour at the Two Oceans Aquarium and want to learn more about penguins, you can do so here:
- What do penguins eat?
- African penguin colonies
- Microscopic threats to penguins: Parasites
- The bioaccumulation problem
- How to speak the penguin language
- How do we prepare food for the penguins?
- Penguins of Marion Island: The “other” African penguins
- Why do rockhopper penguins have crests?
- Biodiversity and penguins
- Penguins are predators too: How penguins hunt
Why does it matter?
Humans like to eat the same calorie-rich foods that penguins do. When we overfish the species penguins eat, they have to swim farther to find food that has less nutrition. For African penguins and other species that live in colonies that are only partially fixed, this means that adults can’t eat enough to feed themselves and their young. The result is an ecological trap that causes chicks to be left behind and the number of endangered penguins to drop.
The solution? Support sustainable seafood programmes – like the WWF SASSI Green List.
Deep Sea Diving For Food | Natural World: Penguins of The Antarctic | BBC Earth
What do penguins eat?
While fish is the key element of the diets of all penguin species, squid and crustaceans are also eaten, particularly krill. Each penguin species uses different methods to find, track and capture their prey, hunting in a variety of water depths and distances from the shoreline. These variations help to reduce competition between penguin species.
Are penguins carnivores?
Penguins are carnivores whose diet mostly consists of crustaceans, fish, and cephalopods like squid and cuttlefish. While hunting, yellow-eyed penguins will dive as deep as 395 feet more than 200 times a day looking for food. Some experts suggest that penguins purposefully shallow stones to reduce buoyancy while diving for food.
Why do penguins eat different species of prey?
The availability of prey species plays a significantrole in shaping a penguin’s diet. Another factor that influences a penguin’s food choices is competition. When different species of penguins coexist in the same area, they often have distinct dietary preferences to minimize competition for resources.
Do penguins eat squid?
Krill are small, almost shrimp-like plankton that live in the open seas. This tiny creature is perfect for species like the aptly named Little Penguin . Some of the smaller and larger species of penguins eat squid. This fast and nutritious creature is popular amongst almost all penguins but particularly the smaller species.