The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has declared the emperor penguin and Antarctic fur seal endangered.
The penguin population has decreased by around 10% from 2009 to 2018, while the number of seals has reduced by 50% from 1999 to 2025.
The IUCN attributed the reclassification to sea-ice changes and reduced food availability due to climate change.
Red List
The IUCN maintains the ‘Red List of Threatened Species’, which shows which animals are at risk of going extinct.
Species are assessed on a seven-level rating system, including three categories of ‘threatened’ risk.
Endangered is defined as “very high risk of extinction in the wild.”
New species
This week, the IUCN reclassified two Antarctic animals on the Red List as endangered: Antarctic fur seals, and emperor penguins (the ones from Happy Feet).
Emperor penguin
Projections show the emperor penguin population will halve by the 2080s, which the IUCN said was the basis of its decision to move the species from ‘Near threatened’ to ‘Endangered’.
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Between 2009 and 2018, 10% of the population died and was not replaced – equivalent to 20,000 adult penguins. It is also projected to halve by 2080.
Antarctic fur seal
The Antarctic fur seal has been reclassified from ‘Least concern’ to ‘Endangered’.
The species’ population has decreased by more than 50% from 1999 to 2025, from an estimated 2,187,000 seals to 944,000.
Why?
In the case of emperor penguins, IUCN researchers believe early sea-ice break-up is exposing chicks to the sea before they are able to swim.
The early break-up has been attributed to higher air and sea temperatures.
Similarly, the Antarctic fur seals’ main food source – krill – is seeking colder waters due to the increased temperatures, drawing them away from the seals’ habitat.
“The declines of the emperor penguin andAntarctic fur seal on the IUCN Red List are a wake-up call on therealities of climate change,”
IUCN Director General Dr Grethel Aguilar said.
Aguilar called Antarctica the planet’s “frozen guardian” that offers “untold benefits to humans, stabilising the climate and providing refuge to unique wildlife.”
