As there has been a significant rise in Global Warming levels and Climate Change, and this has impacted the tundra region of the south, Antarctica where the Emperor Penguins of Antarctica has been declared a threatened species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The main aim to list the penguins as a threatened species per the agency was the climate change impact on the sea-ice habitat is the “primary threat” to the emperor penguins.
It is to be noted that the Antarctica region is booming with luxury tourism where travellers have the right to land. This is having a major impact on the fragile ecosystem that the continent has and it is important to ensure that sustainable, safe practices are followed during these tours.
“This listing reflects the growing extinction crisis and highlights the importance of the ESA and efforts to conserve species before population declines become irreversible,” said Martha Williams, service director of the agency.
n AnShe further added that climate change could have a huge impact on species from around the world and listing the emperor penguin is more of an alarm bell to take action.
Currently, the number of emperor penguins is stable with about 61 breeding colonies and an estimated 625,000 to 650,000 emperor penguins across the globe.
However, as per expert’s prediction, the population size could go down from 26% to 47% by the year 2050 because of climate change as it is threatening emperor penguins in the Indian Ocean, Western Pacific Ocean, Bellingshausen Sea and Amundsen Sea.
The penguin colonies in all these regions are projected to decline by more than 90% because of melting sea ice.
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