The Feeding Habits of Penguins

A penguin does not have the ability to fly, but can swim through the world's oceans with ease. Within its marine environment, it depends predominantly on krill to survive. Krill -- small shrimp-like crustaceans -- come in a variety of sizes to feed both the petite Adélie penguins and the large king or emperor penguins.

  1. Food Requirements and Fasting

    • Penguins subsist primarily on krill, but they will also catch squid and small fish. Most penguins, despite their size, require about 2 pounds of food per day during the busy summer months; in the harsh winter, the penguin can subsist on a third of that, according to Penguin Science. During the breeding season, the birds will undergo fasting. Some continue to fast through the egg-laying process and egg incubation. Penguins will also fast during molting season or when a juvenile chick first gets its feathers. The bird will subsist off its stored fat layer when fasting. When a young chick undergoes the growth of its first adult feathers, its physical growth will cease until feeding resumes. Depending on the species of penguin, the period of fasting may last 54 to 120 days.

    Hunting and Catching Prey

    • When hunting for food, the penguin will dive to a depth of up to 114 feet. The bird relies upon its keen eyesight to locate the krill, squid or small fish. The penguin does not have teeth, but it will grasp its prey with its sharp beak. The interior sides of the bird's beak have sharp spines, and its tongue also boasts sharp spike-like protrusions that help the penguin hold on to its food tightly. It swallows its food whole. The penguin can hunt well even under in the dark depths of the ocean with remarkably little light but it cannot hunt in full darkness.

    Hunting

    • The hunting range of the penguin varies among species and also the seasons of the year. The Adelie penguin will usually hunt within 9 miles of the colony. King penguins have been known to hunt up to 559 miles from the colony, and emperor penguins at distances of about 900 miles, according to Seaworld. The penguins will often utilize seal holes in the ice to reach the ocean water. A female penguin may travel up to 50 miles across the frozen land to find the open ocean and hunt. She will consume an ample amount of food and return to feed her chick by regurgitation.

    Decline From Lack of Food

    • The birds can hunt singularly or as a group. Emperor penguins often stay gone from the colony for up to two months when hunting if they have to cover a substantial distance to reach abundant krill. The changing ecosystem and global warming have caused a lack of krill to occur. In some areas of the world, the penguin population has declined by 50 percent from lack of food; chinstrap and Adelie penguin colonies have shown one of the most serious declines, according to Science Daily.