[2] The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies the royal penguin as Least Concern.

[2] Royal penguins nest on beaches or on bare areas on slopes covered with vegetation.

When the chicks are just over two months old, they will have grown their adult plumage and will leave the colony to go to sea to feed on their own.

[2] During breeding season, royal penguins will hunt in localised areas in conjunction to neighbouring colonies.

[7] Royal penguins as a species are classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, with high risk of endangerment in the wild.

[1] The Royal Penguin is not listed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

[8] Modern threats to the royal penguin include introduced predators such as rats (and formerly cats but they were eradicated from Macquarie Island recently), discarded plastic, pollution, and decreased food supply due to commercial fishing.