Emperor penguins and fur seals now endangered in Antarctica

Emperor penguins and Antarctic fur seals are now both classed as endangered - meaning they are at a very high risk of becoming extinct in the wild.

Now on the IUCN's (International Union for Conservation of Nature's) red list of threatened species, emperor penguins were once listed as Near Threatened.

However, scientists using satellite images discovered that about 10% of their population - more than 20,000 adult birds - had been lost between 2009 and 2018.

Experts warn that their numbers could fall by half by the 2080's if climate-warming gas emissions are not reduced.

These penguins depend on sea ice to survive.

They need something called 'fast ice', which is ice that stays attached to the land or seabed. This ice provides a safe place for them to raise their chicks and grow new feathers each year. If the ice breaks up too early, before chicks can swim or stay warm, the young penguins may struggle to survive.

"Penguins are already among the most threatened birds on Earth," says Martin Harper, CEO of BirdLife International. "The Emperor penguin's move to 'endangered' is a stark warning: Climate change is accelerating the extinction crisis before our eyes."

Antarctic fur seals are also now Endangered. Their population dropped by more than half between 1999 and 2025, falling from more than two million to fewer than one million (944,000).

Warmer oceans and melting ice have reduced the number of krill - tiny shrimp-like animals that seals eat. With less food, fewer seal pups are able to make it to the age of one.

Other dangers include predators like killer whales and leopard seals, and competition for food with whales.

"The 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," says IUCN Director General Dr Grethel Aguilar.

"Antarctica's role as our planet's 'frozen guardian' is irreplaceable," She adds: "These important findings should spur us into action."