# Penguin Place

> Penguin Place is a founder-led field guide written as a Survival Lab: every penguin is solving a survival problem. Covers all 19 living penguin species with profiles, comparisons, guides, and a conservation tracker.

## Scope

- 19 living penguin species, following the three-way rockhopper split (western, eastern, northern). Many references still use an 18-species list.
- 171 species-to-species comparison pages.
- 15 explanatory guides, plus FAQ, glossary, and a conservation tracker.

## Conservation status (IUCN Red List)

- Least Concern: 6
- Vulnerable: 6
- Endangered: 5
- Critically Endangered: 1
- Near Threatened: 1

Most recent change: the emperor penguin moved from Near Threatened to Endangered on 9 April 2026.

## Key pages

- [All species](https://penguin-place.co.nz/penguins) — every profile
- [Conservation tracker](https://penguin-place.co.nz/conservation) — current status, population, trend, and a changelog of Red List movements
- [Compare](https://penguin-place.co.nz/compare) — any two species side by side
- [Guides](https://penguin-place.co.nz/guides) — how penguins dive, fast, breed, and survive cold
- [Glossary](https://penguin-place.co.nz/glossary) — terminology
- [FAQ](https://penguin-place.co.nz/faq) — direct answers

## Species

- [Emperor Penguin](https://penguin-place.co.nz/penguins/emperor-penguin) — Aptenodytes forsteri; Endangered; 100–130 cm; ~595,000 individuals
- [King Penguin](https://penguin-place.co.nz/penguins/king-penguin) — Aptenodytes patagonicus; Least Concern; 85–95 cm; ~2.2 million breeding pairs
- [Adelie Penguin](https://penguin-place.co.nz/penguins/adelie-penguin) — Pygoscelis adeliae; Least Concern; 46–71 cm; ~7.6 million breeding pairs
- [Chinstrap Penguin](https://penguin-place.co.nz/penguins/chinstrap-penguin) — Pygoscelis antarcticus; Least Concern; 68–77 cm; ~8 million breeding pairs
- [Gentoo Penguin](https://penguin-place.co.nz/penguins/gentoo-penguin) — Pygoscelis papua; Least Concern; 51–90 cm; ~774,000 breeding pairs
- [Little Blue Penguin](https://penguin-place.co.nz/penguins/little-blue-penguin) — Eudyptula minor; Least Concern; 30–33 cm; ~469,760 individuals
- [Magellanic Penguin](https://penguin-place.co.nz/penguins/magellanic-penguin) — Spheniscus magellanicus; Least Concern; 61–76 cm; ~1.8 million breeding pairs
- [Humboldt Penguin](https://penguin-place.co.nz/penguins/humboldt-penguin) — Spheniscus humboldti; Vulnerable; 56–70 cm; ~23,800 individuals
- [Galapagos Penguin](https://penguin-place.co.nz/penguins/galapagos-penguin) — Spheniscus mendiculus; Endangered; 49–53 cm; ~1,200 mature individuals
- [African Penguin](https://penguin-place.co.nz/penguins/african-penguin) — Spheniscus demersus; Critically Endangered; 60–70 cm; ~9,900 breeding pairs
- [Yellow-eyed Penguin](https://penguin-place.co.nz/penguins/yellow-eyed-penguin) — Megadyptes antipodes; Endangered; 62–79 cm; ~3,400 individuals
- [Fiordland Penguin](https://penguin-place.co.nz/penguins/fiordland-penguin) — Eudyptes pachyrhynchus; Vulnerable; 51–71 cm; ~6,250 mature individuals
- [Snares Penguin](https://penguin-place.co.nz/penguins/snares-penguin) — Eudyptes robustus; Vulnerable; 51–61 cm; ~25,000 breeding pairs
- [Erect-crested Penguin](https://penguin-place.co.nz/penguins/erect-crested-penguin) — Eudyptes sclateri; Endangered; 50–70 cm; ~150,000 breeding pairs
- [Macaroni Penguin](https://penguin-place.co.nz/penguins/macaroni-penguin) — Eudyptes chrysolophus; Vulnerable; 51–77 cm; ~6.3 million breeding pairs
- [Royal Penguin](https://penguin-place.co.nz/penguins/royal-penguin) — Eudyptes schlegeli; Near Threatened; 65–76 cm; ~850,000 breeding pairs
- [Western Rockhopper Penguin](https://penguin-place.co.nz/penguins/western-rockhopper-penguin) — Eudyptes chrysocome; Vulnerable; 45–55 cm; ~1.5 million breeding pairs
- [Eastern Rockhopper Penguin](https://penguin-place.co.nz/penguins/eastern-rockhopper-penguin) — Eudyptes filholi; Vulnerable; 45–55 cm; ~1.6 million breeding pairs
- [Northern Rockhopper Penguin](https://penguin-place.co.nz/penguins/northern-rockhopper-penguin) — Eudyptes moseleyi; Endangered; 52–62 cm; ~240,300 breeding pairs

## Sourcing

Population and status figures follow IUCN Red List and BirdLife International assessments; each species page lists its sources and the date the entry was last reviewed. Where the science is uncertain, pages say so rather than rounding it away.