"The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service granted federal protections to the world’s tallest and heaviest penguin species Tuesday".
"It is the only animal that dares to breed during the Antarctic winter. It endures gale-force winds and freezing temperatures to lay and protect a single egg.
Now climate change threatens Antarctica’s emperor penguin with extinction, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declared Tuesday, as melting sea ice upends the habitat it needs to breed, feed and protect itself from predators.
“This listing reflects the growing extinction crisis,” Martha Williams, the federal wildlife agency’s director, said in a statement, as the agency gave the iconic seabird protection under the Endangered Species Act. “Climate change is having a profound impact on species around the world.”
The Center for Biological Diversity petitioned Fish and Wildlife to protect the emperor penguin in 2011, arguing that the loss of sea ice driven by climate change will put the penguin’s long-term survival in jeopardy."
Dino Grandoni reports for the Washington Post October 25, 2022.
SEE ALSO:
"Emperor Penguins Now A Threatened Species Due To Climate Change, U.S. Says" (Reuters)
"Emperor Penguins Are Protected Under the Endangered Species Act" (New York Times)
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