Move over “Happy Feet”!
Yes, as Emperor penguins, you’re very regal. And we know you’re the biggest of the 17 species of penguins – standing proud and tall at four feet high.
Antarctica penguins
But, you see, we want to talk about your smaller cousins. Other Antarctica penguins like Chinstraps. Peppy little Adelies. And shy Gentoo penguins.
These other penguins are the ones people usually see when they visit the Antarctic on an expedition cruise.
Click here to see photos of our amazing Antarctica expedition cruise!
Adelie penguins
Adelies are the really cute ones.
They’re named after Adelie, wife of the French explorer Jules Dumont D’Urville, who first discovered them in 1840 on the Antarctic coast. The smallest of the Antarctic penguins, they’re only 18 to 24 inches tall, and they live on rockier parts of the Antarctic continent (unlike the Emperors, which live on ice).
Adelies are fun to watch and put on quite a comical show – hopping around, marching one after the other along snow banks, and sledding and sliding down hills on their bellies.
Chinstrap penguins
You can recognize Chinstrap penguins by the narrow band of black feathers which stretches from ear to ear, just below their chin. They grow to about 28 to 30 inches tall.
Like Adelies, these Antarctic penguins build their nests by scraping the ground and lining it with pebbles – and they often steal pebbles from a neighbor’s nest. But unlike other penguin species, where the stronger chick wins out when feeding, Chinstrap parents treat both chicks that hatch equally.
Gentoo penguins
Sporting bright orange beaks and feet, Gentoos are the biggest of the three species, standing 30 to 35 inches tall. These penguins are the fastest underwater swimmers and can rocket through the water at speeds of 17 mph.
But Gentoos are more timid, retreating if other penguins act boldly toward them. They’re also considered a threatened species, with only about 320,000 breeding pairs worldwide.
Did you know Antarctica’s icebergs are blue? See photos here!
Other places where penguins live?
Antarctica may be the best place to see penguins.
But you can also see penguins in the wild in the Galapagos, South Australia’s Kangaroo Island and Boulders Beach in Cape Town, South Africa.
Read more about penguins
If you’ve got a real crush on penguins, you might like these books.
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All photos are © Janice and George Mucalov, SandInMySuitcase (except images of Emperor and Boulders Beach penguins)
Do you love penguins?
We’re Janice and George Mucalov, award-winning travel writers, sharing tales of luxury travel with a twist of adventure at Sand In My Suitcase.
Love these photos, it looks amazing. I’ve been lucky enough to see some King Penguins in the wild… Would love to see some of these too.
Oh, the King penguins would be something to see!
Wow! Amazing photos. I am so jealous. What a crazy and amazing experience.
Great pictures! We went to Antarctica a few years ago but want to go back!
Take us with you!
I’m trying so hard not to be jealous right now! :) Penguins are my favorite, and I would LOVE to take a trip and see them in person. I have this overwhelming urge to hug the one in the first photo, but my guess is they don’t allow that on the expeditions, huh? ;)
The rules for penguin viewing were that we had to give way to them at “penguin crossings.” We couldn’t get too close to them either. But if we plonked ourselves down on the snowy ground, they would waddle over to us, sometimes tripping over our legs. Inquisitive little creatures! (We didn’t try to hug them :-).
What a fantastic experience. Even though I try to avoid travel to the frozen parts of the earth, seeing the penguins live would be a dream trip.
Great photos! I didn’t realize there are so many different types of penguins in Antarctica. All of them are adorable. Antarctica is a place I am longing to see!
Janice didn’t think Antarctica would blow her away as much as it did. It’s a mind-boggling place…
Oh my gosh, these penguins are just so darn cute! I would love to see them in their natural habitat like this.
Penguin pictures… they never stop making my day wobbling around all cute :)
I so want to go see these little critters…someday….sigh.
Even though I am a tropical girl, I would bundle up in a minute to be able to see and photograph these adorable creatures! You got some fantastic pix. Who isn’t infatuated with penguins? I recently watched March of the Penguins again and fell in love with them all over again. What a privilege to be so close to them in their natural habitat instead of a zoo!
Yes, it was a privilege. And you can’t help but love the little critters. We spent hours just sitting on the snowy ground watching them waddle about. The penguins would come right up to us and almost poke their beaks into our camera lenses.
These are definitely among the world’s cutest animals!