🐧 A world in the atlas

Penguins

Many penguin species decline as fish stocks and sea ice shift.

PHOTO VIA WIKIPEDIA, CC BY-SA

Least ConcernEndangeredExtinct

The picture

Penguins are superbly adapted ocean hunters, but many species are declining as warming seas move their prey and reduce the sea ice some depend on. Marine protected areas help rebuild their food supply.

The science

Family Spheniscidae. Penguins are flightless birds whose wings evolved into powerful flippers.

Worth repeating at dinner

Emperor penguins can dive over 500 m and hold their breath for 20 minutes.

- NOAA

Penguin parents often take turns to incubate eggs and feed at sea.

- WCS

What they face

Overfishing

Competition for fish reduces the food penguins need.

NOAA

Warming & ice loss

Shifting prey and melting ice stress colonies.

NOAA

What is already working

Marine protected areas

No-take zones rebuild the fish penguins rely on.

Reasons for hope

New protected waters

Fresh MPAs safeguard key penguin feeding grounds.

Meet them

Emperor penguin King penguin Little penguin Gentoo penguin African penguin

Small actions that reach them

Choose sustainable seafood

Overfishing and bycatch threaten sharks, turtles and fish stocks.

~10 min

Refuse one single-use plastic

8M+ tonnes of plastic enter the ocean yearly, harming turtles, seabirds and whales.

~2 min

Donate to a vetted org

Effective orgs turn funds into ranger patrols, habitat and rescue capacity.

~10 min

People doing the big work

WCS ↗BirdLife International ↗

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