As sea ice disappears because of climate change, the penguins lose needed space to breed and raise chicks and to avoid predators. Their key food source, krill, is also declining.
As sea ice disappears because of climate change, the penguins lose needed space to breed and raise chicks and to avoid predators. Their key food source, krill, is also declining because of melting ice, ocean acidification and industrial fishing, according to the Center for Biological Diversity.
The organization first petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to make the endangered species designation for emperor penguins in 2011. The center’s climate science director, Shaye Wolf,the decision “is a warning that emperor penguins need urgent climate action if they’re going to survive. The penguin’s very existence depends on whether our government takes strong action now to cut climate-heating fossil fuels and prevent irreversible damage to life on Earth.
Though emperor penguins are not found naturally in the U.S., the endangered species protections will help increase funding for conservation efforts. U.S. agencies will also now be required to evaluate how fisheries and greenhouse gas-emitting projects will affect the population, according to the Center for Biological Diversity.Share this story:
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