A raft of Adélie penguins
© Brian Myers

Adopt A Penguin

Adorable penguins. Captivating, inquisitive - and incredibly vulnerable to threats like climate change.

Your adoption will help protect penguins in the Antarctic and help fund our vital work around the world. When you choose an animal adoption, you are supporting both your chosen animals as well as wider work to help bring our world back to life.

Choose a monthly amount
£

Prefer a one-off payment ?

Antarctic Advocacy: Ensuring Better Penguin Protection

Penguin adopters have supported long-term research on the Adélie penguins being carried out by researchers at the Dumont d’Urville station in Antarctica. Adélie penguins build their nests on rocky outcrops, but melting ice can flood the nests, being catastrophic for their breeding success. Scientists use GPS tags to understand penguin foraging behaviour at sea, and monitor breeding performances to gather data to contribute to the development of an MPA proposal in the East Antarctic Region.

Researchers, supported by penguin adopters, have been able to use findings from their research to advocate for better protection of penguins in the Southern Ocean. In 2023, with support from WWF, they attended a climate conference in Paris to advocate for more Marine Protected Areas in Antarctica, which is crucial for the long-term survival of penguins. It is only through the kind support of our adopters that WWF’s work can continue to protect such an iconic species and their wider ecosystem.

Your Adoption Really Helps

Animal adoptions like yours give a huge boost to our work. They not only help fund projects to monitor penguins and their movements and see how they're being affected by climate change but also fund our other vital work around the world.

Adopt a penguin and receive

Cuddly Toy

An optional soft toy to love forever. Toy may vary from image shown. 

Welcome Pack

Choose between our standard welcome pack or a pack created for children under 12. 

Regular Updates

We'll keep you updated on how you're supporting our vital work including sending your adoption updates three times a year.

Certificate and background

Get a personalised adoption certificate and a lovely penguin video call background.


Emperor penguins are the largest living penguin and breed the furthest south of any penguin species. Breeding colonies are found around the coast of the entire Antarctic continent. Emperor penguins may be the only bird never to set foot on land as their colonies are on the sea ice and they even breed on frozen sea. To keep warm, up to 5,000 adults and chicks can huddle together, shuffling round so each gets a turn on the outside.

 
Penguin Map

Threats that penguins face

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Sea ice loss

Climate change is reducing the amount of sea ice in parts of the Antarctic Peninsula. One of the penguins main food sources - krill - breeds and feeds under the sea ice.

Penguin Silhouette

More snow

Adélie penguins only nest on bare, dry land and increased snowfall during late winter and early spring may cause chicks to hatch later. There's less krill around at this time of year, which can affect the chicks’ chances of survival.

Human Silhouette

Loss of prey

Overfishing of krill in parts of the Southern Ocean may also impact one of the penguins main food sources.

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Gentoo penguins

Penguins may also lose ground to gentoo penguins, which are better adapted to warming Antarctic environments.


How We Can Help

We work with governments, industries and individuals to help reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. We encourage them to switch to renewable energy – to help minimise climate change and the warming that threatens penguins, their food sources and their habitat.

We’re also involved in helping improve the way Antarctica is managed through the Antarctic Treaty and the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). They ensure that fisheries are sustainable and aim to eliminate illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing.

Your adoption and support will help us:

  • improve the management of Antarctica’s resources and safeguard its wildlife
  • establish a network of marine protected areas covering at least 10% of the 20 million km² Southern Ocean
  • reduce illegal and unsustainable fishing practices
  • raise awareness of the threats of climate change we all face
  • fund our other essential work around the world

Adélie penguins with chicks at nesting site

Adélie penguins build nests out of pebbles. They choose a sloping site so water runs away from the nest.


Last minute gift?

Penguin Certificate
No problem! You can print or email a personalised gift certificate online to give on the day.

Free delivery

Your pack will be sent within 2-3 working days - but allow up to 5 working days for it to arrive. 

The below estimate is for the number of Adélie Penguins in the wild. Penguin adoptions support both Adélie and Emperor penguins.​​​​​​​

 

Want to protect other marine animals too? Check out our adopt a marine animal page to find out more.

Penguin adoption FAQs

Yes, you can adopt a penguin with WWF. Donations from penguin adoptions go both directly to support penguins, as well as to fund our wider work to protect nature and our planet. Adoptions are symbolic for donating and supporting our conservation work with different species. By adopting a penguin, you will be supporting a whole group of penguins, rather than one individual.

You can adopt a penguin with WWF from just £3 a month if you pay via Direct Debit, or with a minimum one-off payment of £36. To adopt a penguin with WWF, select your donation amount on the widget, click 'Adopt Now' and then complete your donation via our secure online checkout. 

You can adopt a penguin with WWF from just £3 a month via Direct Debit, or from just £36 via a one-off payment. Your money could go further if you pay by Direct Debit as this supports our long-term planning and helps keep our administration costs down.

When you adopt a penguin with WWF, 50% of your donation will fund programs of work that directly support penguins while the remaining 50% will fund other projects that need it most. After adopting a penguin you'll receive a welcome pack including an optional toy and note from the WWF team welcoming you on board. We'll keep you updated on how you're supporting our vital work by sending you three adoption updates a year. 

Penguin adoptions help us; work with fisheries to ensure sustainable fishing practices are upheld; raise awareness of the threats of climate change affecting penguins; improve management of Antarctica's resources to safeguard wildlife.