Antarctic fur seals are also now Endangered. Their population dropped by more than half between 1999 and 2025, falling from more than two million to fewer than one million (944,000).
Warmer oceans and melting ice have reduced the number of krill – tiny shrimp-like animals that seals eat. With less food, fewer seal pups are able to make it to the age of one.
Other dangers include predators like killer whales and leopard seals, and competition for food with whales.
“The declines of the emperor penguin and Antarctic fur seal on the IUCN Red List are a wake-up call on the realities of climate change,” says IUCN Director General Dr Grethel Aguilar.
“Antarctica’s role as our planet’s ‘frozen guardian’ is irreplaceable,” She adds: “These important findings should spur us into action.”