I always like to say that if there is magic on the planet, a lot of that magic is in the penguins.

They've been living on this planet over 60 million years and they are adapted to live in the most extreme conditions.

There are 18 different species of penguins on the planet, but half of those 18 are listed as threatened.

Dr.

Pablo Borboroglu is the President and CEO of Global Penguin Society, a partner of Wildlife Conservation Network that is working to protect all species of penguins and the habitats they depend on.

Penguins thrived in places that were predator free.

But human beings, we introduce sometimes by accident or on purpose, new predators.

And these penguins, they are not prepared to defend themselves.

In the ocean, they are affected by the mismanagement of fisheries, oil pollution, plastic pollution right now, and of course, climate change is changing the pattern of ice formation and melting in Antarctica, which is a problem for Antarctic species.

But climate change is also moving the food away from colonies.

The combination of these threats is what has been causing the decline of many penguin species worldwide.

Global Penguin Society tracks and monitors penguin populations.

That data is then used to advocate for the conservation of their habitats.

and spread awareness and education about the needs of this critical species.

Our work is focused on three areas.

We do research, protection of habitat, and education.

What we are doing is we are working to increase the resiliance of penguins, their capacity to recover and grow stronger after adversity.

And that has been how we have been able to protect 32 million acres of habitat for penguins.

And we have benefited two and a half million penguins worldwide.

To learn more about how we can protect the future of penguins, visit norcalpublicmedia.org/wildlife.