The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has declared the Emperor penguins an endangered species due to climate change. The IUCN has moved the species from "threatened" to "endangered" on its Red List of Threatened Species. The organization noted that sea ice has reached record lows since 2016, leading to mass drownings of penguin chicks and entire colonies falling into the ocean. Researchers believe that human-induced climate change poses the most significant threat to emperor penguins. The Antarctic fur seal has also been classified as endangered due to a decline in its krill use.