King penguins are the rare species benefiting from a warming world. But that could change

King penguins are adapting to climate change in a way that appears to help them breed successfully, which is unusual. Researchers tracked about 19,000 birds on a sub-Antarctic island chain and found that breeding began 19 days earlier than in 2000. Wednesday’s study links this earlier timing to a 40% increase in breeding success. This is a rarity in the natural world, where warming often causes time shifts for species that depend on each other, such as bees and flowers. Scientists say king penguins enjoy flexibility in feeding and breeding. It’s a climate change success story, but scientists warn it may only be for now.