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Gentoo Penguin

Gentoo Penguin line art illustration (click image to enlarge)

Gentoo Penguin full color illustration (click image to enlarge)

Artist's notes:

I believe the last penguin I had drawn was about four years ago, so I was overdue to add another to the image library. Following the completion of this drawing, I rehabilitated an older drawing of a Southern Rockhopper Penguin, so now the total penguin images in the catalog numbers five (and I'll be adding the Chinstrap and the African Penguin some time soon.) The drawing is based on a photo by Martha de Jong-Lantink

Information about the Gentoo Penguin:

Gentoo penguins are members of the Spheniscidae family. They are large penguins (only the Emperor and King are larger) with a weight of about 19 pounds (8.5 kg) growing to about 20-36 inches tall (51-90 cm) They are the fastest swimmers of the penguins, reaching the impressive speed of about 22 MPH (36 kph) The origin of the name is unclear. Like other penguins, Gentoos feed mostly on crustaceans, such as krill although they will also eat fish. They live in and around islands in the Antarctic region, but their main colony is in the Falkland Islands, where there are about 300,000 breeding pairs. The nests are made on rocky shores. In building a nest Gentoos pile stones, grass and sticks into a circle where the eggs will then be laid. These birds ca be quite aggressive and occasionally fights will break out over stones or other building material, which they will steal from one another.