article_snippet: Happy Feet' may have triggered the world's interest into the largest penguin species, but little was actually known about the fluctuating numbers of the emperor penguin, until now.
article_snippet: The current sea ice conditions are optimal for the emperor penguin population, however this may not last if global warming persists .
article_snippet: The largest penguin species in the world is currently thriving in the Antarctic with numbers drastically increasing over the last 12,000 years .
article_snippet: During the last Ice Age, conditions became so severe that the emperor penguin population was around seven times smaller than the emperor penguin population is now.
article_snippet: Temperatures were at least 15 degrees colder on average than the emperor penguin population are today and just three colonies of the emperor penguin survived that period.
article_snippet: Lead researcher Jane Younger said that despite emperor penguins being accustomed to temperatures of minus 30C, the last Ice Age seems to have been a snap too cold for them.
article_snippet: global warming has made global warming easier for the emperor penguins to feed as the sea ice has melted and lessened the distance to the ocean . '
article_snippet: Due to there being about twice as much sea ice compared to current conditions, the emperor penguins were unable to breed in more than a few locations around Antarctica,' Lead researcher Jane Younger said. '
article_snippet: The distances from the open ocean, where the emperor penguins feed, to the stable sea ice where the emperor penguins breed was probably too far.'
article_snippet: The findings have suggested that the current sea ice conditions might be optimal for the emperor penguin population.
article_snippet: global warming would have made global warming easier for the emperor penguins to access the ocean to feed.
article_snippet: Researchers are currently unable to determine the future of the largest and heaviest penguin species as Researchers are clearly very sensitive to climate change and the current ideal conditions for these birds may not last.
highlights_snippet: The first study into the fluctuating numbers of the emperor penguin species has been conducted by scientists .
  