The polar bear may soon have to share the spotlight with another charismatic polar animal from the other side of the world - apparently, the King penguin is facing dire pressures from global warming as well. Scientists have tied increased water temperature in the Southern Ocean to a decrease in fish availability, and subsequently found a correlation between sea surface temperatures and the survival rate of penguins, especially their chicks.

 

The King penguin, close cousin to the Emperor penguin of Hollywood fame, could quite possibly face a warming-dependent population collapse even if temperatures reach a fraction of their projected levels. Throw in the startling statistic that the poles are warming at 5 times the global average over the last 50 years - which has been rapid enough, thanks - and you look to have yourself a crisis pending.

 

In any event, this is just one more issue to lump onto the pile of reasons why the Arctic and Antarctic circles need to be looked at further as one of the most pressing conservation issues of the day, as a major biodiversity hotspot on the brink of utter crisis. It may not be as sexy as a rainforest, but it’s really going, and fast.

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