The warming seas are pushing the King Penguin further and further away from its food sources, a situation that could lead to the bird's extinction by the end of the century.

A study published in the journal Nature Climate Change found that 70 percent of today's 1.1 million breeding pairs of Antarctica's King Penguin will have to adapt.  These penguins breed on a few isolated islands in the Southern Ocean; from there, they make round trips of more than 600 kilometers to hunt for fish and krill in the Antarctic.  Unlike the larger Emperor Penguin, Kings can't breed on ice, so they can't just live on the Antarctic continent.

But this leaves the chicks alone without food for up to a week at a time.  As climate change pushes krill and the Penguins' preferred fish further south, the parents would have to make longer and longer journeys to find food and bring it back to the babies.

Researchers warn that the plight of the King Penguin should be considered a harbinger about the future of the Antarctic's entire marine environment if action isn't taken soon.

"There are still some islands further south where king penguins may retreat, but the competition for breeding sites and food will be harsh, especially with other species like the Chinstrap, Gentoo, or Adelie penguins, even without the fisheries," said Celine Le Bohec of the Monaco Scientific Center, one of the study's co-authors.  "It is difficult to predict the outcome, but there will surely be losses on the way - if we are to save anything, proactive and efficient conservation efforts but above all coordinated global action against global warming should start now," she added.