Brazilian research groups join efforts in penguin rescue network

The Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio) has unveiled the Brazilian Network for Penguin Stranding and Data, or REPIN, to assist the conservation of penguins found along the Brazilian coast.

The network will include institutions and research groups active in the rescue of the birds, and should promote sightings and monitoring, as well as offer assistance in stranding cases and help animals that have been stranded, injured, or killed as bycatch or due to oil spills.

Efforts will include animal rescue, stabilization, rehabilitation, and release, as well as the sharing of data from biological samples of penguin specimens among group members.

One of the species most commonly found on the Brazilian coast is the Magellanic penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus), a seasonal visitor from Argentina, the Falkland Islands, and Chile. Due to the different environment, a large number of these arrive on Brazilian beaches in poor health. The ones lucky to be rescued are rehabilitated and oil-covered birds are cleaned before being returned to the wild.