The emperor penguin has officially been declared as a threatened species by the US government under the Endangered Species Act. Due to melting sea ice and warm temperatures in Antarctica caused by climate change, scientists from the US Fish and Wildlife Service say all these penguins but 1% will disappear by 2100 if the crisis is not addressed. “The listing of the emperor penguin serves as an alarm bell but also a call to action,” said Martha Williams, director of the Fish and Wildlife Service.

Watch as these juvenile Emperor penguins take a leap of faith, on their way to the ocean without their parents for the first time. Over two extraordinary years, National Geographic Explorer Bertie Gregory discovers secret traditions, surprising intelligence and close-knit societies of penguins from Antarctica to the Galápagos, never filmed before. Watch Secrets of the Penguins this Earth Day. Tuesday April 22nd from 7pm, on National Geographic WILD UK. Also streaming on Disney | National Geograp