Emperor penguins have braved cold, storms, starvation and predation to breed, ensuring their population survives. But climate change might defeat the iconic Antarctic birds.
On April 9, the largest of all penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) were officially moved from threatened to endangered status by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The network of about 17,000 scientists and experts from over 160 countries maintains the IUCN Red List, a running tally of how threatened different species are in the wild. “Endangered” status means the birds are now considered to face “a very high risk of extinction in the wild.”
It’s the breakup and loss of sea ice around Antarctica that