Overview
- The International Union for Conservation of Nature updated its Red List on Thursday, classifying the emperor penguin as strongly endangered due to climate change.
- Emperor penguins need anchored coastal sea ice to raise chicks and to molt when they cannot swim, and early spring breakups can sweep entire colonies into the water.
- Satellite analyses from the British Antarctic Survey found some West Antarctic colonies shrank by 22% in 15 years, while February 2023 set a record low for Antarctic sea ice at 38% below the 1979–2022 average.
- IUCN assessments report about a 10% decline in penguin numbers from 2009 to 2018 and project populations could halve by the 2080s if current trends hold.
- The IUCN also raised the Antarctic fur seal to strongly endangered after a drop of more than 50% since 1999 to roughly 944,000 animals, tied to krill moving into deeper, colder water as seas warm.