US EditionIUCN Lists Emperor Penguin and Antarctic Fur Seal as Endangered
The Red List update cites climate-driven sea-ice loss and shrinking krill supplies, with emperor penguin numbers down about 10% and fur seals down more than 50%.
- On Wednesday, the International Union for Conservation of Nature classified emperor penguins and Antarctic fur seals as "endangered," citing human-induced environmental impacts including warming ocean waters and shrinking sea ice.
- Climate change poses the "most significant threat" to emperor penguins, according to Dr. Philip Trathan of the IUCN's penguin specialist group, as reduced sea ice pushes krill into deeper waters, limiting food availability.
- Emperor penguin populations fell about 10% between 2009 and 2018, totaling more than 20,000 adults lost, while Antarctic fur seal numbers dropped more than 50 percent since 1999 to 944,000 last year.
- Southern elephant seals were also moved from "least concern" to "vulnerable" following population declines caused by a deadly contagious pathogen, while both endangered species now rank two steps below "extinction in the wild."
- Ahead of next month's Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in Japan, WWF Australia's oceans conservation manager Emily Grilly urged nations to declare both species "specially protected" to defend against industrial fishing and tourism threats.
134 Articles
134 Articles
Emperor penguins declared endangered
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reported that the list of endangered animals added up to 2 new species, the emperor penguin and the sea wolf. “The emperor penguin and the Antarctic sea lion are now in danger of extinction, according to the Red List of Threatened Species” UICN PressIn this regard, the agency indicated that the inclusion of Antarctic species in the list is due to the effects caused by climate change a…
Conservation news
ecotopical.comEmperor penguins are now endangered amid climate change and melting ice
Emperor penguins are native to Antarctica, where record low sea ice over the last decade has dramatically changed their habitat. Populations of the world’s largest penguin have fallen so much that they have now officially moved from near threatened to endangered in the latest assessment by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the global conservation authority, published April 9. “Penguins are already among the most threatened birds on Earth,…
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