Context

Warming climate may render Emperor Penguins, one of the most striking and charismatic animals on Earth, extinct by the end of the century, according to a new study by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).

About

• The study was a part of an international collaboration between scientists.
• Penguins are this indicator species, this canary in the coal mine, they are warning us of the future effect of climate.
• The big message is we need to listen to the penguins, and implement policies to meet the Paris agreement’s objective.
• Disappearing sea ice impacts Emperor Penguins directly, as the animals use it as a home base for their nine-month breeding season and for feeding and moulting.
• Emperor Penguins tend to build their colonies on ice with extremely specific conditions — it must be locked in to the shoreline of the Antarctic continent, but close enough to open seawater to give the bird’s access to food for themselves and their young.
• As climate warms, however, that sea ice will gradually disappear, robbing the birds of their habitat, food sources and ability to raise their chicks.
  
  

Emperor Penguins

• The status of the emperor penguin, one of Antarctica’s most iconic species, in the Red List of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is Near Threatened.
• The emperor penguin is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species and is endemic to Antarctica. Emperor Penguins are the largest penguins in the world.
• Feathers of the head and back are black and sharply delineated from the white belly, pale-yellow breast and bright-yellow ear patches.
• While hunting, the species can remain submerged around 20 minutes. They can dive deeper than any other bird.
• This is the only penguin species that breeds during the Antarctic winter.
• Emperor Penguins don’t build any sort of nests at all. Their feet and brood patches are the only “nest” their chicks get.