Royal Penguin vs Snares Penguin
Royal Penguins and Snares Penguins are both Eudyptes — same evolutionary sketchbook, different finished drawings in size (76 cm vs 61 cm) and range. Royal Penguin: Royal Penguins are a reminder that a species can look numerically strong while still being geographically narrow. Most of the story leads back to Macquarie Island. Snares Penguin: The Snares Penguin is what happens when an entire species bets on one remote island group staying dependable for a very long time. Everything below is measurable. The part worth arguing about is what it implies.
Royal Penguin
Snares Penguin
Size Comparison
Royal Penguin
65-76 cm
3-8 kg
Snares Penguin
51-61 cm
2.5-4 kg
| Feature | Royal Penguin | Snares Penguin |
|---|---|---|
| Conservation | Near Threatened | Vulnerable |
| Scientific Name | Eudyptes schlegeli | Eudyptes robustus |
| Height | 65-76 cm | 51-61 cm |
| Weight | 3-8 kg | 2.5-4 kg |
| Lifespan | 15-20 years | 15-20 years |
| Population | ~850,000 breeding pairs | ~25,000 breeding pairs |
| Diet | Krill, Small fish, Squid | Krill, Squid, Small fish |
| Habitat | Sandy and rocky beaches, Vegetation-covered slopes | Sub-Antarctic islands, Rocky shores, Olearia forest |
| Regions | Macquarie Island (Australia) | Snares Islands (New Zealand) |
| Genus | Eudyptes | Eudyptes |
Conservation Status
Royal Penguin
Near ThreatenedSnares Penguin
VulnerableScientific Name
Royal Penguin
Eudyptes schlegeli
Snares Penguin
Eudyptes robustus
Height
Royal Penguin
65-76 cm
Snares Penguin
51-61 cm
Weight
Royal Penguin
3-8 kg
Snares Penguin
2.5-4 kg
Lifespan
Royal Penguin
15-20 years
Snares Penguin
15-20 years
Population
Royal Penguin
~850,000 breeding pairs
Snares Penguin
~25,000 breeding pairs
Diet
Royal Penguin
Krill, Small fish, Squid
Snares Penguin
Krill, Squid, Small fish
Habitat
Royal Penguin
Sandy and rocky beaches, Vegetation-covered slopes
Snares Penguin
Sub-Antarctic islands, Rocky shores, Olearia forest
Regions
Royal Penguin
Macquarie Island (Australia)
Snares Penguin
Snares Islands (New Zealand)
Genus
Royal Penguin
Eudyptes
Snares Penguin
Eudyptes
Key Differences
Not a second table — the reasons the numbers diverge.
Survival problem
Royal Penguin: Because breeding is concentrated almost entirely on one island, any big shift in local marine productivity or colony conditions scales up very quickly. Snares Penguin: Its breeding range is tiny, so any sustained change in nearby food supply, disease, or island conditions matters at species scale almost immediately. Those two sentences are the comparison’s spine — stats only make sense if they map back to the problem each bird is actually solving.
Size and mass
The Royal Penguin is noticeably taller on average — up to 76 cm and 8 kg against the Snares Penguin's 61 cm and 4 kg. That gap changes dive physics, fasting capacity, and how each bird spends energy on land and at sea.
Habitat logic
Royal Penguins use sandy and rocky beaches and vegetation-covered slopes; Snares Penguins use sub-antarctic islands, rocky shores, and olearia forest. There is little shared nesting or haul-out habitat between them. Habitat here is architecture, not scenery: shelter, predators, and access to prey decide who can breed successfully.
Separate ranges
Royal Penguins live in Macquarie Island (Australia); Snares Penguins live in Snares Islands (New Zealand). Non-overlapping ranges usually mean different currents, predator guilds, and fisheries pressure — which is why conservation headlines for one rarely transfer cleanly to the other.
Dive depth
The Snares Penguin reaches 120 m, against 100 m for the Royal Penguin. Depth buys access to prey that shallower divers never reach, and it is paid for in oxygen storage, muscle chemistry, and the time each foraging trip takes.
Abundance
There are roughly 34 times as many Royal Penguins as Snares Penguins — ~850,000 breeding pairs against ~25,000 breeding pairs. Rarity is not the same as risk, but it sets how little has to go wrong before a decline becomes irreversible.
Conservation pressure
The Snares Penguin carries the sharper label (Vulnerable, population ~25,000 breeding pairs) against the Royal Penguin's Near Threatened (~850,000 breeding pairs). Listed as Vulnerable because their entire breeding population is confined to a single small island group. The lower-risk bird is not “safe”; it simply has a wider margin before the same kinds of ocean or land failure become terminal.
Key Similarities
Shared genus: Eudyptes
Both belong to Eudyptes, so they inherit a related body plan and many of the same physiological constraints. Related does not mean interchangeable — size, range, and breeding rules still split them — but it explains why field marks and moult timing can look related even when habitats diverge.
Overlapping prey
They both take krill, small fish, and squid. Shared prey is a coupling: a krill or forage-fish crash can stress both populations even when colonies sit far apart.
Why both still feel like penguins
They are close relatives of the macaroni complex, but their defining trait is not the face. Snares Penguins can form dense, loud colonies under vegetation on a place many people will never see, which makes them both well protected and strangely vulnerable. Underneath those quirks sit the same flightless, flipper-driven design that makes every living penguin a swimming specialist rather than an aerial one.
How to read this matchup
Read this pair as one lineage under two constraints. The Royal Penguin shows the bigger expression of the Eudyptes plan; the Snares Penguin shows how far that plan can shrink or specialise. When risk differs, follow the Snares Penguin for pressure and the Royal Penguin for what a related bird still manages with more margin.
About Each Species
Royal Penguin
Royal Penguins are a reminder that a species can look numerically strong while still being geographically narrow. Most of the story leads back to Macquarie Island.
Found exclusively on Macquarie Island, Royal Penguins are closely related to Macaroni Penguins but distinguished by their white or pale grey face. Their species status is still debated by scientists.
Full Royal Penguin profileSnares Penguin
The Snares Penguin is what happens when an entire species bets on one remote island group staying dependable for a very long time.
Endemic to the tiny Snares Islands south of New Zealand, this yellow-crested penguin has the most restricted range of any penguin species, yet maintains a healthy population thanks to the absence of introduced predators.
Full Snares Penguin profileFrequently Asked Questions
Which is bigger, the Royal Penguin or the Snares Penguin?
The Royal Penguin is larger — up to 76 cm and 8 kg — while the Snares Penguin reaches about 61 cm and 4 kg.
Which is more endangered, the Royal Penguin or the Snares Penguin?
The Snares Penguin sits higher on the IUCN ladder (Vulnerable, ~25,000 breeding pairs) than the Royal Penguin (Near Threatened, ~850,000 breeding pairs). Listed as Vulnerable because their entire breeding population is confined to a single small island group.
Do Royal Penguins and Snares Penguins live in the same place?
No meaningful range overlap. Royal Penguins: Macquarie Island (Australia). Snares Penguins: Snares Islands (New Zealand).
What do Royal Penguins and Snares Penguins eat?
Both take krill, small fish, and squid. Full lists: krill, small fish, and squid for the Royal Penguin; krill, squid, and small fish for the Snares Penguin.
What is the biggest survival difference between Royal Penguins and Snares Penguins?
Royal Penguin: Because breeding is concentrated almost entirely on one island, any big shift in local marine productivity or colony conditions scales up very quickly. Snares Penguin: Its breeding range is tiny, so any sustained change in nearby food supply, disease, or island conditions matters at species scale almost immediately.
Are Royal Penguins and Snares Penguins closely related?
Yes — both are genus Eudyptes within Spheniscidae, so they share a relatively recent common ancestor and related anatomy, even when range and size diverge.