
Have you ever been to Antarctica? If yes, then I’m sure you must be familiar with our dear friend who shall also be our topic of concern in today’s article, the emperor penguin.
You must be thinking what is so special about the emperor penguin that I just can’t stop talking about it, that’s because this one is not a regular penguin.
The emperor penguin is a tall and handsome species coloured in all black and white with bands of yellowish orange running across the neck.
But one thing most people are curious to know about these Penguins is their height.
And In this article, I’ve explained Emperor Penguin’s height in detail. I’ve also compared it with others.
so without further ado, Let’s get into it.
Emperor Penguin Height: How tall are Emperor Penguins?

Emperor penguins are the tallest and also the heaviest of all the members of the penguin family.
These do not show sexual dimorphism which means both the males and the females are equal in size.
However, their weight varies with sex, males being heavier than female penguins. Taking the bill as well as the tail into consideration, the emperor penguins cover a total length of 100-120 cm (3.2 -3.9ft).
Juvenile Emperor Penguin Height

Baby penguins differ from their parents in many aspects as a result both of these look quite different from one another.
It takes around 12-13 months for a baby penguin to develop into its juvenile form. Once it reaches the juvenile stage, the emperor penguin is around 25 inches (2ft) tall and is also capable of performing other activities like collecting food.
The juvenile penguins have grey hair all over their body with pale white and grey bands across their neck which is later replaced by orange and yellow ones.
Stage of penguin | Height in feet | Height in inches |
Juvenile stage | 2ft | 25 inches |
Adult stage | 3-4ft | 36-47 inches |
How Tall Can Emperor Penguins be?
Emperor penguins are giant. They are highly tall, and most of them are known to be taller than average human height.
During the time of their development, height is one feature that increases at a fast pace.
Today, the tallest emperor penguins can reach a height of up to 1.3 metres. However, the emperor penguins that became extinct were even taller, crossing 1.5 metres easily.
A study shows that some mega-tall emperor penguins were found to be 6 ft tall. Yes, they were this giant, even taller than you and me (BTW I’m 5.8ft).
What Is Average Emperor Penguin Height?
Emperor penguins are the tallest penguin species that inhabit the Antarctic region.
From a distance, you cannot identify whether the emperor penguin is a male or a female as they look the same due to no difference in height.
Both of them reach up to a height of 3.2-4 ft. This can also be called the average height of emperor penguins as most of the population is this tall today.
Emperor Penguin Vs King Penguin: Height Comparison

The term emperor and King might mean the same in your English dictionary but when talking about penguins, these are two different and the most popular species of this bird.
Just like in the real world, where an emperor holds charge of a larger area than the king, Emperor penguins are larger and taller than the king penguins.
This is also the easiest way to differentiate the two birds even from a faraway distance.
To be precise, emperor penguins stand tall to a height of 47 inches (4ft) while the king penguins reach up to a height of 35 inches (3ft).
Birds | Height in cm | Height in inches |
Emperor penguin | 100-120 cm | 47 inches |
King penguin | 75-90 cm | 35 inches |
Emperor Penguin Vs Human: Height Comparison

Comparing the height of an emperor penguin with humans can be a tricky task. This is so because the height of human beings differs based on habitat.
For example, German and European people are said to be taller than people from other parts of the world.
However, if we take the average human height then it is 5.5 -5.9ft approximately which is more than the average height of an emperor penguin which is 3.2-4 ft.
Species | Height in cm | Height in inches |
Humans | 165-175 cm | 5.5 -5.9ft inches |
Emperor penguins | 100-120 cm | 3.2- 4 ft |
Emperor Penguin Vs Normal Penguin: Height Comparison

As explained above, emperor penguins are the tallest penguin species. Normal penguins grow up to 3 ft approximately which is way lesser than emperor penguins.
Emperor penguins are not only taller than normal penguins but they also tend to be much heavier resulting in their huge body stature.
Birds | Height in cm | Height in inches |
Emperor penguin | 100-120 cm | 3.2-4 ft |
Normal penguin | 70-90 cm | 2.2-3 ft |
Conclusion
I hope this article was informative enough and you learned something new today.
Thank You For Reading!
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