Four out of five emperor penguin colonies in Antarcticas Bellingshausen Sea experienced total breeding failure last year after the sea ice young chicks need to survive broke up earlier than usual.

Researchers with the British Antarctic Survey used satellite images to track sea ice and the presence of penguins on the ice. Their findings were published on Thursday in the journal Communications Earth & Environment .

Its a grim story, lead study author Dr. Peter Fretwell told The Guardian . I was shocked. Its very hard to think of these cute fluffy chicks dying in large numbers.