Rockhopper Penguin

Name: Rockhopper Penguin - Eastern (Eudyptes (chrysocome) filholi), Southern (Eudyptes (chrysocome) chrysocome), Northern (Eudyptes (chrysocome) moseleyi)

Length: 50 cm

Weight: 2.5 kg

Location: Sub-Antarctic islands, southern tip of South America

Conservation status: Southern - Vulnerable, Northern - Endangered

Diet: Krill, fish, small crustaceans, squid, mollusks

Appearance: Black bodies and flippers, white bellies, feathered “punkish” crest on head, red eyes

How do Rockhopper Penguins hunt?

Rockhoppers can dive 100 metres for several minutes while hunting, often staying out in the ocean for days. They have a layered defense against the cold: a layer of fat, down on their skin, and tightly overlapping waterproof feathers. Penguins have the highest number of feathers of any birds - sometimes up to 12 per square centimetre. Rockhoppers can also alter the shape of their lenses for good vision both above and below water.

Do Rockhopper Penguins socialize?

Rockhoppers form vast breeding colonies during mating seasons, sometimes up to hundreds of thousands. They can be aggressive, fighting for nesting sites, mating rights, and food by slapping with their flippers. They communicate through body language like bowing, shaking heads, and preening, and vocally by “braying” different signals.

How fast can Rockhopper Penguins move?

On land, Rockhoppers prefer to hop around rocky shores rather than sliding on their bellies. Underwater, they swim at about 7 km per hour.

What is the Rockhopper Penguin's mating ritual like?

In early spring, Rockhoppers leave the sea to climb onto rocky shores. Males arrive first, followed by females. They form lifetime pairs and locate each other using loud braying calls. They return to their previous nests, where the female lays two eggs, usually only one survives. The adults take turns incubating the eggs and hunting. It takes about a month for the egg to hatch, and the chicks rely on their parents for food for about a month before joining a crèche to learn swimming and hunting.

How long do Rockhopper Penguins live?

Rockhopper Penguins generally live about 10 years in the wild.

How many Rockhopper Penguins are there today?

There are an estimated 1.5 million breeding pairs of Rockhopper Penguins worldwide. Their population has dropped by 30% over the last 30 years due to pollution and other human interference.

Do Rockhopper Penguins have any predators?

On land, Rockhoppers are threatened by birds like the Brown Skua, which target eggs and chicks. In the sea, they are vulnerable to Seals, Sharks, and Killer Whales (Orcas).

7 Rockin' Rockhopper Penguin Facts

• Rockhoppers can sleep while floating on the sea.
• There is some scientific disagreement about what constitutes a Rockhopper, leading to three different scientific names.
• Rockhoppers are the smallest crested penguins.
• Eudyptes means “good diver” in Greek, and Chrysocome means “golden hair.”
• The Rockhopper's yellow “eyebrow” is called a “supercilium.”
• Rockhoppers' beaks start out black and turn orange as they age.
• Rockhoppers can swim fast enough to launch themselves out of the water onto the shore.