Chinstrap Penguin

On land, they build circular nests from stones, and lay two eggs, which are incubated by both the male and the female for shifts around 6 days each. The chicks hatch after around 37 days, and have fluffy grey backs and white fronts. The chicks stay in the nest for 20–30 days before they go to join other chicks in a crèche. Around 50–60 days old, they moult, gaining their adult feathers and go to sea. Chinstrap penguins are generally considered to be the most aggressive and ill-tempered species of penguin.

Chinstrap penguins have a circumpolar distribution. They breed in Antarctica, Argentina, Bouvet Island, Chile, the Falkland Islands, the French Southern Territories, and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Vagrant individuals have been found in New Zealand, the islands of Saint Helena and Tristan da Cunha, and South Africa.

The global population of the chinstrap penguins is estimated to be at least eight million. Although it is believed to be decreasing overall, its population is not severely fragmented and in many sites it is increasing or stable. The chinstrap penguin is primarily threatened by climate change. In several parts of its range, climate change decreases the abundance of krill, which likely makes reproduction less successful. For instance, a 2019 expedition to breeding grounds on Elephant Island show a fifty percent population decline in just under fifty years. Other potential threats include volcanic events and the fishing of krill by humans. Several conservation actions are taking place for this species. Multiple areas where it lives are being monitored for long periods. Conservation actions proposed for the future include more monitoring and researching of its population, range, and behavior. It is listed as a species of least concern on the IUCN Red List as of 2016, due to its large range and population, following five previous assessments of the same status from 2004 to 2012 and three assessments as "unknown" from 1988 to 2000.