Is the emperor penguin endangered?
Yes. On 9 April 2026 the IUCN moved the emperor penguin from Near Threatened to Endangered, skipping Vulnerable entirely. It was first assessed as Least Concern in 1988 and uplisted to Near Threatened in 2012, so this is its second uplisting and its steepest. The driver is sea ice: emperors breed on fast ice that has to stay intact from laying through fledging and moult, and that ice has hit record lows since 2016. Satellite counts show roughly a 10% population loss between 2009 and 2018 — more than 20,000 adults — and population modelling across a range of emissions scenarios projects the species halving by the 2080s without steep cuts to greenhouse gas emissions. Roughly 595,000 individuals remain.
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Where this answer comes from
Reference bodies behind our conservation answers. Links last checked August 5, 2026.
- IUCN Red List - Global conservation assessments and extinction-risk categories.
- BirdLife Data Zone - Species accounts, distribution, and population summaries.
- SANCCOB - African penguin rescue, rehabilitation, and conservation context.
- New Zealand Department of Conservation Penguins Hub - New Zealand penguin species, threats, and habitat guidance.