Belgian wildlife photographer Yves Adams managed to photograph a rare penguin on a remote island in South Georgia in December 2019 and just recently posted them.
It is a king penguin ( Aptenodytes patagonicus ) that, unlike the traditional monochrome tuxedo-like feather coloration, sports a striking bright yellow color instead of black and white. The photos show the bird walking among a multitude of seals and penguins, in permanent contrast to its companions in the landscape.
While preparing his equipment on the beach, immersed in a two-month expedition across the South Atlantic, Adams saw the specimen that stood out among a flock of penguins swimming on the shore.
While it is true that there may be a number of physiological peculiarities that can lead to unusual coloration in wild animals, such as leucism or melanism, Adams suspected that the South Georgia yellow penguin could be the result of the first of these. two conditions, in which the animal lacks the melanin necessary to produce dark feathers.
The penguin has lost the carotenoid or yellow-orange-red pigment in its beak and the melanin pigment in its feathers , while retaining the yellow pigment in its feathers; so the genetic and cellular machinery of some pigments was eliminated and others were not. It’s strange. Experts will need samples of its feathers to perform biochemical tests and unravel the mystery of this curious animal.
Unfortunately for him, having a striking color is a focus for predators and can also be an obstacle to his reproductive success.
