Of 62 known penguin colonies, around 30% were harmed by low sea-ice levels last year — and 13 likely failed entirely, Fretwell said. “That this could happen doesn’t shock me, but I’m ...

As rapidly warming global temperatures help push Antarctica’s sea ice to unprecedented lows, it’s threatening the very existence of one of the continent’s most iconic species: emperor penguins.

Emperor penguins depend on sea ice stuck to the edge of the Antarctic continent as a habitat to lay eggs and raise their young until they can swim and fend for themselves.

Left: A foraging Emperor penguin preens on snow-covered sea ice around the base of the active volcano Mount Erebus, near McMurdo Station, the largest U.S. Science base in Antarctica, December 9, 2006.