The decline of these iconic birds is due to the loss of sea ice, which they depend on. Emperor penguins need ‘fast ice’ which is still attached to the coastline, seafloor or grounded icebergs and does not move with the current. This gives them a safe habitat while they\u2019re raising their chicks and going through their annual moult.<\/p>\n
If the ice breaks up too early in the season \u2013 before the chicks can swim or have developed their warm, waterproof feathers \u2013 they can drown or freeze.<\/p>\n
\u201cPenguins are already among the most threatened birds on Earth,\u201d says\u00a0Martin Harper, CEO of BirdLife International. \u201cThe emperor penguin\u2019s move to Endangered is a stark warning: climate change is accelerating the extinction crisis before our eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Once listed as a species of Least Concern, the Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella<\/em>) has also now been declared Endangered after its population decreased by more than 50 per cent from 1999 to 2025. The plummeting population numbers \u2013 from around 2,187,000 adults to 944,000 \u2013 has also been caused by climate change.<\/p>\n As waters warm and sea ice melts,\u00a0krill<\/a>\u00a0is feeling the heat. Shortages of these shrimp-like creatures \u2013 a favourite food of Antarctic fur seals \u2013 has reduced pups\u2019 one-year survival rates and is driving population decline. Other threats \u2013 including competition with baleen whales for food and predation by\u00a0killer whales<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0leopard seals<\/a> \u2013 may also play a role.<\/p>\n The experts have a clear message: the increased extinction risk of these two species is a result of human-caused climate change.<\/p>\n \u201cThe declines of the emperor penguin and Antarctic fur seal on the IUCN Red List are a wake-up call on the realities of climate change,\u201d says IUCN Director General Dr Grethel Aguilar in\u00a0a\u00a0statement. \u201cAntarctica\u2019s role as our planet\u2019s ‘frozen guardian’ is irreplaceable \u2013 offering untold benefits to humans, stabilising the climate and providing refuge to unique wildlife.\u201d<\/p>\n Aguilar adds: \u201cThese important findings should spur us into action across all sectors and levels of society to decisively address climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n