Penguins of the World: Threats and Solutions

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, most penguin species are in decline. Although penguins share many characteristics, the threats they face vary according to colony location, contact with humans and other predators, and dependence on sea ice.

This interactive shows where each of the 18 species of penguin lives, the threats they face, and how to find solutions to help save these important sentinels of ocean health.

Learn more about Pew’s campaign to protect penguins by visiting Global Penguin Conservation

 
 

Penguins serve as marine sentinels because the health of their populations signals changing conditions in the ocean and on land. The 18 penguin species are affected by environmental pressures with varying intensity. Here you can see each species, its population size, and the threats it faces, plus its International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) ranking, based on factors such as population trajectory, geographic range, and current population size.


Endnotes

  1. 1  International Union for Conservation of Nature, Red List of Threatened Species, accessed March 14, 2014, http://www.iucnredlist.org. IUCN Red List information for specific penguin species can be obtained by entering the scientific name in the search field "Enter Red List search term(s)."
  2. 2  Charles-André Bost et al., "King Penguin (Aptenoydytes patagonicus)" in Penguins: Natural History and Conservation, eds. Pablo Garcia Borboroglu and P. Dee Boersma (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2013), 9.
  3. 3  See citation 1.
  4. 4  See citation 1.
  5. 5  Heather J. Lynch, "Gentoo Penguin (Pygoscelis papua)," in Penguins: Natural History and Conservation, eds. Pablo Garcia Borboroglu and P. Dee Boersma (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2013), 74.
  6. 6  Philip J. Seddon et al., "Yellow-Eyed Penguin (Megadyptes antipodes)" in Penguins: Natural History and Conservation, eds. Pablo Garcia Borboroglu and P. Dee Boersma (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2013), 97–100.
  7. 7  See citation 1.
  8. 8  See citation 1.
  9. 9  Lloyd Spencer David, "Erect-Created Penguins (Eudyptes sclateri)," in Penguins: Natural History and Conservation, eds. Pablo Garcia Borboroglu and P. Dee Boersma (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2013), 149.
  10. 10  See citation 1.
  11. 11  See citation 1.
  12. 12  See citation 1.
  13. 13  Glenn T. Crossin et al., "Macaroni Penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus) and Royal Penguin (Eudyptes schlegeli)" in Penguins: Natural History and Conservation, eds. Pablo Garcia Borboroglu and P. Dee Boersma (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2013), 193.
  14. 14  See citation 1.
  15. 15  See citation 1.
  16. 16  See citation 1.
  17. 17  P. Dee Boersma et al., "Galápagos Penguin (Spheniscus mendiculus)" in Penguins: Natural History and Conservation, eds. Pablo Garcia Borboroglu and P. Dee Boersma (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2013), 294.
  18. 18  Peter Dann, "Little Penguin (Eudyptula minor)" in Penguins: Natural History and Conservation, eds. Pablo Garcia Borboroglu and P. Dee Boersma (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2013), 310.