Penguins are some of the most adorable creatures on Earth. But some penguins that lived in New Zealand more than 25 million years ago also would have been a little bit scary — they were big enough to almost see eye-to-eye with a person.
The emperor penguin, the largest living penguin, is much smaller than the extinct Kairuku. Credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationA geologist discovered the first fossils of these penguins in 1977. He went back to the discovery site a few times over the years, picking up a few more fossils for his collection, and examining them in the laboratory. But it wasn’t until recently that he and his colleagues put together complete skeletons. They reported their find in 2011.
The team identified two extinct species, known collectively as Kairuku — a Maori word that means “diver for food.” They stood up to four-and-a-half feet tall, and weighed up to 130 pounds. In the water, they would have stretched to more than five feet. The largest modern penguin is the emperor, which grows to about three feet tall and weighs up to about 90 pounds.
Kairuku looked a lot like modern penguins. Their bills were a little longer, their bodies a little more slender, and their wings could fold into their bodies, but you wouldn’t have had any trouble identifying them as penguins.
Researchers say the giant size could have helped the penguins hunt for prey. Kairuku’s larger body would have allowed it to swim farther from shore and dive into deeper waters than its modern-day relatives. Their size also could have helped keep large predators at bay — adding a little bit of swagger to these big, adorable birds.
