Warmer sea ‘could kill 70% of king penguins’

More than 70 per cent of king penguins could be wiped out by rising ocean temperatures, scientists warn.

Their total population of 1.6million today could be reduced by more than 1.1million by 2100, a computer simulation shows.

The birds are not endangered at present – rated as ‘of least concern’, they occupy the lowest category of extinction risk.

But that could change as their fish supplies move further into the Southern ocean, where there are few suitable islands to provide a home for the birds.

King penguins require remote islands that are not too cold, have no winter sea ice, smooth sand or pebbles, and no preda- tors. If they have to swim more than 435 miles on a round trip to hunt for fish, their waiting offspring can starve to death as their fat reserves dwindle. It can take a parent three months to deliver fish to its young.

researcher robin cristofari said: ‘There is only a handful of islands in the Southern ocean. not all of them are suitable to sustain large breeding colonies.’

The scientists, from the University of Strasbourg in France, whose study is published in the journal nature climate change, warn that the effects of the fish population moving further south could lead to a ‘massive population crash’ of the penguins, adding that their projection is an underestimate of losses.