Penguin/Catalogs/Penguins in the northern hemisphere

This king penguin was photographed at Fortuna Bay on South Georgia, UK, well inside the southern hemisphere.

The possibility of penguins in the Arctic Circle living for some time cannot be conclusively ruled out, because although their natural habitat lies well within the southern hemisphere, with most colonies in the Antarctic Circle, there have been at least two attempts to introduce these birds to the northern hemisphere.

Penguins have certainly not themselves made the Arctic their home; the Earth's poles are too far apart for these animals to make the journey, though penguins do exist as far north as the Galapagos Islands near the equator. Penguin experts would not recommend introducing a penguin colony towards the North Pole as they would could count as an invasive species, possibly disrupting the ecosystem and disturbing the food chain; this could threaten other wildlife. Alternatively, penguins would be unable to compete successfully with local species, meaning they would succumb to starvation, disease or predation.

Despite these fears, groups of these animals have been introduced to the north. In the nineteenth century, the great auk was hunted to extinction by whalers; 1930s scientists speculated that penguins could fill this ecological niche, providing a source of meat and eggs. In 1936, a team from the Norwegian Nature Protection Society led by Carl Schoyen released nine king penguins in northern Norway. In 1938, a separate group released several macaroni and jackass penguins into the same region. For most individual penguins, the trail then went cold; one was certainly killed by a local huntswoman who apparently mistook it for a demon, and another was caught on a fishing line as late as 1944, apparently in good health. No others were conclusively sighted.

No further attempts to introduce penguins to the Arctic Circle are on record; any penguins north of the equator are confined to zoos, with some also acting as mascots for various organisations. However, the myth of the 'Arctic penguin' persists on the internet, possibly encouraged by various factors, from casual birdwatchers mistaking auks for penguins, to Christmas cards featuring penguins alongside northern polar bears.