There’s one time I went to an aquatic zoo they had a bunch of King penguins there. I never thought that they would look so big in person.
Wherever I saw them on images or videos I always thought they were quite small.
But my friend that’s not the case here, they’re totally different when seen live.
So here I’m creating this compact article about the King penguin size. I’ve covered all the aspects related to their height. I’ve also compared their height with other penguins, birds, and human beings.
So without further ado, let’s get into it.
King Penguin Height/length
Most of the time people get confused between King penguins and Emperor penguins because of their similar appearances. But King penguins are quite smaller than Emperor penguins.
Now talking about the height, on average king penguins’ height ranges between 70 to 100 cm (2.2-3.2 ft).
Although King penguins are monomorphic in nature and both males and females have almost similar appearances.
But there is a size difference between these penguins. Males tend to be slightly larger than females.
One thing I would like to point out is that length and height are the same things. Length is used more scientifically and height is used more commonly.
Now the height measurement is usually done on a dead bird in a lab. So there’s is room for error.
| Bird | Height In cm & feet | Height In Inches |
| King Penguin | 70 to 100 cm ( 2.2-3.2 ft ) | 28 to 39 inches |
Juvenile King Penguin Height
Juvenile king penguins are quite different from adults. They’ve slightly different plumage and sizes.
On average the juvenile king penguin’s height ranges between 50-60cm (1.6-1.9 ft).
Juvenile penguins are mostly guarded and cared for by their parents. Both the king penguin parents provide food for their baby during its growing years.
| Bird | Height In cm & feet | Height In Inches |
| Juvenile King Penguin | 50-60cm (1.6-1.9 ft) | 19 to 23 inches |
King Penguin Average And Tallest Height
King penguins are the second tallest penguins after the Emperor Penguins. King penguin’s average height ranges between 2.2-3.2 ft. If we talk about the mean height then it comes out to be 2.7ft.
Now talking about how tall can these penguins be. So the tallest recorded king penguin surpasses 3.2ft (closer to 3.5ft). Now, these records are currently not verified but this does seem amenable for these penguins.
King Penguin Height Compared To Human
Now this is the most asked query “how tall are they compared to us”?
So the average human height is around 5.5-5.9ft and the average king penguin’s height is around 2.2-3.2ft.
They seem tiny compared to use. With that height, King penguins will reach just above our waistline.
| Basis | Human | King Penguins |
| Height | 5.5-5.9 ft | 2.2-3.2 ft |
King Penguin vs Emperor Penguin: Height Comparison
The term emperor and King might mean the same in your English dictionary but when talking about penguins, these are two different and the most popular species of this bird.
Just like in the real world, where an emperor holds charge of a larger area than the king, Emperor penguins are larger and taller than the king penguins.
This is also the easiest way to differentiate the two birds even from a faraway distance.
On average the emperor penguins’ height ranges from 100-120 cm (3.2-3.9ft) while king penguins are only 2.2-3.2 ft tall at maximum.
The Emperor penguin is approximately 25% taller than the king penguin and also weighs more.
| Basis | Emperor Penguin | King Penguins |
| Height | 3.2-3.9 ft | 2.2-3.2 ft |
King Penguin Vs Adélie penguin
Adélie penguin is one of the most common penguins around the Antarctic continent. Just like the emperor penguin, the Adélie penguin is also widespread.
Now talking about the size difference between the Adélie and King penguin.
On average the Adélie penguin’s height ranges between 70–73 cm (2.2-2.3 ft) which makes them marginally smaller than the King penguins.
| Basis | Adelie Penguin | King Penguins |
| Height | 2.3-2.3 ft | 2.2-3.2 ft |
Conclusion
That was everything you need to know about the King penguin’s height. I hope this article was informative enough and you learned something new today.
Thank You For Reading!
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