Map showing breeding colonies of emperor penguin in Antarctica. In 2023, 14 of the 66 colonies in Antarctica lost some or all of their chicks due to sea ice breakup. Graphic: British Antarctic Survey
Map showing breeding colonies of emperor penguin in Antarctica. In 2023, 14 of the 66 colonies in Antarctica lost some or all of their chicks due to sea ice breakup. Graphic: British Antarctic Survey

By Gloria Dickie
25 April 2024

LONDON (Reuters) – Record low sea ice in late 2023 led to breeding failures in one-fifth of Antarctica’s emperor penguin colonies, scientists with the British Antarctic Survey said on Thursday.

Emperors – the world’s largest penguin species and one of only two endemic to Antarctica — depend on sea ice firmly attached to the shore to lay their eggs and raise their chicks. If ice breaks up too early, the chicks will be forced to enter the sea before their waterproof feathers have fully come in.

“They’ll either freeze to death or they’ll drown,” said Peter Fretwell, a scientist with the British Antarctic Survey who studies wildlife using satellites.

24 April 2024: It’s a tough time to be an emperor penguin – sadly 14 of the 66 colonies in Antarctica lost some or all of their chicks due to sea ice breakup in 2023. Researchers can track the colonies using satellites, because brown guano is visible from space. They need stable sea ice from March to January to hatch and raise penguin chicks – this is the amount of time they need to develop waterproof feathers. If the sea ice breaks up, the young will freeze or drown. Video: British Antarctic Survey

That happened in 14 of Antarctica’s 66 emperor penguin colonies last year as the extent of Antarctic’s sea ice shrank to a record low, driven in part by climate change-fuelled heating. Tens of thousands of chicks are likely to have died.

The extent of spring and summer sea-ice around Antarctica has fallen significantly over the past seven years, with 2022 and 2023 registering record summer lows. […]

Scientists predict that 99% of emperor penguins will be lost by the end of this century if sea ice continues to decline due to climate change fuelled by the burning of fossil fuels. [more]

Emperor penguins suffered mass breeding failures in 2023 amid record low sea ice