Emperor penguins are "in danger of extinction in the foreseeable future" in considerable portions of their range because of climate change, prompting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to list the bird as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). 

The FWS announced the designation last October, stating that "the impact of climate change on sea-ice habitat, where the species spends the majority of its life, is the primary threat to the penguin."

"Emperor penguins need sea ice to form breeding colonies, forage for food, and avoid predation," the FWS states in the announcement. "As carbon dioxide emissions rise, the Earth’s temperature will continue to increase, and the related reduction of sea ice could affect a variety of species, including emperor penguins, who rely on the ice for survival."

Martha Williams | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Emperor penguins, native to Antarctica, are the largest of the penguin species. The flightless seabirds can weight nearly 90 pounds and stand up to 45 inches tall, according to the FWS, with males only slightly larger than females. The female lays only one egg per breeding season, which the male then incubates while the female feeds out at sea for two months. The birds take turns caring for the chick and foraging for food until the chick can keep itself warm. Chicks typically leave the colony after approximately 150 days; penguins can breed at five years, according to the FWS.

Emperor penguin populations are seemingly stable now, with an estimated 625,000 to 650,000 individual birds or 270,000 to 280,000 breeding pairs in approximately 61 breeding colonies along the Antarctica coastline, the FWS reports. The best available science, however, indicates the emperor penguin population will fall between 26% to 47% by 2050, per low and high carbon-emissions scenarios, according to the FWS.

Moreover, the predicted drop won't be evenly spread across all of Antarctica, the FWS states. Emperor penguins in the Ross and Weddell seas, "strongholds for the species," will likely see stable populations. But science predicts population declines of more than 90% in penguin colonies in the Indian Ocean, Western Pacific Ocean, Bellingshausen Sea and Amundsen Sea sectors because of melting sea ice, according to the report.

"While this estimated decline is concerning," the FWS reported, "listing the emperor penguin as threatened under the ESA comes while there is still time to prevent the species from extinction."

FWS Director Martha Williams said listing the emperor penguin as a threatened species is a reflection of the increasing extinction crisis, and demonstrates the importance of the ESA and efforts to protect species "before population declines become irreversible."

“Climate change is having a profound impact on species around the world and addressing it is a priority for the Administration," Williams said in the report. "The listing of the emperor penguin serves as an alarm bell but also a call to action.”