Emperor penguins are now an endangered species
Climate change could halve emperor penguin populations by the 2080s, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which has changed the designation of the iconic Antarctic species from ‘near threatened’ to ‘endangered’, along with the Antarctic fur seal.
World Wide Fund for Nature Australia ocean conservation manager and marine biologist Emily Grilly told SBS News that emperor penguins “rely on sea ice as their primary habitat to live and to breed”.
She said that due to the planet warming, there’s been a “dramatic decline in Antarctic sea ice coverage over the last decade”, which can lead to “really high mortality rates”.
Grilly says the survival of emperor penguins and other Antarctic species is “very closely linked to climate change policy globally”.
Watch more of this story: https://youtu.be/z9lglKzC54k
SBS News is Australia’s trusted news source for the latest news from Australia and across the world.
Subscribe to the SBS News YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@SBSNews
Follow SBS News on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sbsnews_au
Follow SBS News on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sbsnews_au
Follow SBS News on X: https://www.twitter.com/SBSNews
Follow SBS News on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sbsnews
Apple News: https://trib.al/MTx0gUe
For the latest news, visit www.sbs.com.au/news
Network Terms & Conditions: https://sbs.com.au/terms
Privacy Policy: https://sbs.com.au/privacy
Feedback or complaints: https://sbs.com.au/complaints
