The last penguins
Photographer Risto Raunio, known for capturing the Arctic and Antarctic regions, has extensively photographed various penguin species alongside his many exotic nature trips. Recently, he realized he had photographed nearly all penguin species! At first, this was neither a goal nor even a dream, but somehow, it happened.
The journey began on a typical tourist trip to Antarctica in December 2010, where the regular residents of the Antarctic Peninsula—chinstrap, gentoo, and Adélie penguins—found their way in front of his lens. That first encounter with these flightless birds left a lasting impression.
During a trip to the Galápagos Islands in 2013, he accidentally captured the highly endangered Galápagos penguin, the second smallest penguin species in the world. The turn of the New Zealand yellow-eyed penguin and the Fiordland penguin came in 2015.
Gentoo penguin, Least concern
The emperor penguin chick, Near Threatened
Adelie penguin, Least concern
King penguin, Least concern
It was only during exotic trips to the Falkland Islands in 2016 and 2018, and later to South Georgia—a truly breathtaking natural destination—that his interest intensified. These journeys introduced him to new species such as the king, Magellanic, rockhopper, macaroni, and even the rare visitor to the area, the erect-crested penguin. By this point, over half of the world's penguin species had been photographed. It was time to figure out where to find the rest.
As a photographer known for capturing cold regions, the opportunity to travel to the Antarctic ice sheet in December 2021 was incredibly exciting—and after the COVID-19 pandemic, almost surreal. The trip resulted in thousands of photos of the emperor penguin. The journey's uniqueness even made headlines on MTV news.
At the beginning of 2023, Risto embarked on a targeted expedition lasting over a month to the Ross Sea. The goal was to find rare and elusive species such as the yellow-eyed, Snares crested, and royal penguins, as well as the little blue penguin—the smallest of them all. Alongside a few familiar species, these too were successfully photographed.
Emperor penguin
This award-winning photo of emperor penguins feeding was taken on an Antarctic glacier, tens of kilometers from the edge of the open ocean. The emperor penguin lays a single egg, and only about one in three chicks survive to adulthood.
A New Species Classification Surprised Everyone
Little penguins nesting along Australia’s southern coast and in Tasmania have traditionally been regarded as a subspecies of the little penguin (Eudyptula minor). However, in 2016, genetic research classified them as a distinct species, Eudyptula novaehollandiae. As a result, the number of missing species in Risto’s collection increased by one.
A second trip to South Georgia in the fall of 2023 included a detour to a couple of islands off the western coast of Chile. This expedition brought encounters with the Humboldt penguin as well as all the previously familiar South Georgian species.
In the winter of 2024, a simple family trip to South Africa provided another exciting discovery. The critically endangered African penguin turned up as a tourist attraction in Cape Town.
The Final Stretch Relies on Luck
What about the last remaining penguins? A new journey to New Zealand and its eastern islets is about to begin. On the eastern coast of the South Island, a small colony of Australian little penguins appears to be fairly easy to reach. But the erect-crested penguin presents a far greater challenge! This species nests exclusively on the remote Antipodes and Bounty Islands, located hundreds of kilometers southeast of the South Island. Landing on these uninhabited, strictly protected islands is prohibited. A daring inflatable boat excursion along the shores is the only hope of spotting them—provided that the weather and the ocean swells crashing against the cliffs allow it!
Will the list be complete by Christmas? After 14 years, will the full set of 19 penguin species finally be photographed? While waiting to find out, you can admire these charming victims of climate change at here.
