Emperor Penguin at serious risk of extinction due to Climate Change

Emperor Penguin Aptenodytes forsteri colonies are declining as sea-ice disappears with warming temperatures. Sea ice is vital for breeding, moulting and foraging and models also suggest that the situation is set to worsen; the probability of extinction of one Antarctic colony is at least 36% by 2100. The emperor are the world’s largest penguin and one of only two penguin species endemic to Antarctica that gives birth during the Antarctic winter and requires solid sea ice from April through December to nest fledgling chicks. They are at severe risk of extinction in the next 30 to 40 years as a result of climate change.

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