| Background
The
Magellanic penguin (Spheniscus
magellanicus) lives along the
Atlantic and Pacific coasts of South
America. The eastern population
breeds in large colonies in Argentina
and migrates north as far as Southwest
Brazil between March and September.
The western population ranges as
far north as Peru.
Studies by Gandini and
collaborators (1994), show that
an estimated number of up to 20.000
adult penguins and 22.000 juveniles
die every year due to chronic oil
pollution along the coast of Argentina
alone, representing only 3.000 km
of the 12.000 km of the total range
for the species. This represents
approximately 1.1% of the adult
population and 6 % of the fledglings
population.
Every year oiled penguins
show up on beaches along their migration
route. The majority of oiled birds
are ignored, slowly die and join
the list of the many forgotten victims
of chronic oiling in other sensitive
areas such as the eastern coast
of Canada. Although research on
the effects of oil on this population
of penguins has been published,
it is primarily in scientific journals
and most people do not know that
this unnecessary waste of life,
solely created by humans, is occurring.
A small number of oiled
penguins are rescued annually along
their migration range in Argentina,
Uruguay and Brazil, and taken to
5 rehabilitation facilities: CRAM
and CECLIMAR in Southern Brazil;
S.O.S. Rescate de Fauna Marina in
Uruguay; Fundación Mundo
Marino and Fundación Aquarium
in Northern Argentina. Currently,
between these 5 institutions approximately
350 animals are being rescued every
year due to limiting factors such
as funding for gasoline for the
pick up and transportation of birds,
fish for larger number of birds
and other expenses related to the
rehabilitation process. These organizations
all have existing rehabilitation
programs and can house up to approximately
200 birds at a time at each facility.
In August-September
2001, more oiled penguins showed
up than usual. The International
Bird Rescue Research Center, IBRRC,
and the International Fund for Animal
Welfare joined together, to support
the IFAW ER team, managed by Dr.
Valeria Ruoppolo, with 3 different
institutions in the north of Argentina
(Fundación Mundo Marino and
Fundación Aquarium) and Uruguay
(SOS- Rescate de Fauna Marina).
IFAW funded basic equipment and
assistance for the rehabilitation
of approximately 543 animals of
which 84 % were released.
In June 2002, oiled
penguins began to show up on beaches
of Brazil and Uruguay. By late July
“normal” numbers of birds
went up and CRAM found themselves
with a minimum of 75 to 100 birds
at any given time. On Aug. 5 the
number was 111 live animals in house
with 69 animals clean and outside.
An IFAW emergency response
team working through CRAM, managed
by Dr. Valeria Ruoppolo, with 3
different institutions in the north
of Argentina (FundaciÛn Mundo
Marino and FundaciÛn Aquarium)
and Uruguay (SOS- Rescate de Fauna
Marina). The IFAW funded basic equipment
and assistance for the rehabilitation
of approximately 543 animals of
which 85% were released.
2002 update
This year has been
no different. In June oiled penguins
began to show up on beaches of Brazil
and Uruguay. In late July “normal”
numbers of birds went up and CRAM
found themselves with a minimum
of 75 to 100 birds at any given
time. On Aug. 12 the number was
111 live animals in house with 100
animals clean and outside being
rehabilitated. The S.O.S. Rescate
de Fauna Marina in Uruguay is a
limited facility, capable of safely
housing and rehabilitating only
25 birds at a time. By early August
this facility was full with over
125 birds and more likely to come
in. Members of our ER team in Brazil
have gone to Uruguay to help manage
the effort.
We continue to provide
support to these birds and are looking
at creating a penguin network in
Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil to
provide better and consistent care
for penguins in this area. We believe
that action to help these animals
must be undertaken by an animal
welfare organization that not only
provides for the needs of as many
oiled penguins as possible but also
uses this work and data collected
from it to effect international
legislation regarding oil pollution.
Our overall objective is to use
rehabilitation, research and publicity
to bring attention to the plight
of these “forgotten” animals,
the issue of chronic oil pollution
along the coast of South America
and around the world and it’s
effects on the environment with
the goal of reducing the amount
of oiling in the Magellanic penguins
and the aquatic environment. |
