Photo finish: A majestic king penguin chick

Photographer Mike Beedell: “I met this king penguin family — along with hundreds of thousands of its neighbours — on an island in the Antarctic Ocean. The chick is wearing its plush pajamas while the adults are wearing their finest tuxedos. They were part of the biggest colony of king penguins on the planet, on the mountainous island of South Georgia. The cacophony of calling and murmuring and ecstatic cries is a stupendous auditory journey while the smell of 400,000 pooping penguins is an olfactory experience that brings definite nostril flare. Kings are the second-largest species of penguins; emperors are the largest. Kings can weigh up to 16 kilograms (35 pounds) and stand up to 94 centimetres (37 inches) high. They can live up to 20 years. Like most Antarctic penguins, they fearlessly approach humans and peck inquisitively at clothing. A nestless species, the parents keep their egg on their feet and have a brood pouch to warm it during 55 days of incubation.