Overview
- The IUCN, which maintains the global Red List, announced Thursday that emperor penguins and Antarctic fur seals are now Endangered.
- For emperor penguins, record losses of stable fast ice used for breeding and molt drove a roughly 10% adult decline from 2009 to 2018 and are projected to halve numbers by the 2080s.
- Antarctic fur seals fell from about 2.19 million adults in 1999 to 944,000 in 2025 as warming seas push krill deeper and offshore, reducing food and lowering pup survival at sites like South Georgia.
- Southern elephant seals were reclassified as Vulnerable after highly pathogenic avian flu hit four of five subpopulations, killing more than 90% of newborn pups in some colonies and harming adult females.
- Scientists and conservation groups are calling for rapid emissions cuts, special protection for emperor penguins under the Antarctic Treaty, and expanded wildlife monitoring ahead of next month’s meeting.