More than 370 penguins that mysteriously washed up on Brazil’s beaches were flown south by plane, back to the frigid waters they call home, environmentalists said last week.
Onlookers in southern Brazil cheered as the young penguins entered the ocean and quickly swam away. The penguin release was the largest ever in South America.
The penguins were among nearly 1,000 that have washed up on Brazil’s northeastern coast in recent months. About 20 percent of the penguins died and the rest were not healthy enough to send back.
                    PHOTO: AP
The penguins, which had been kept at an animal rehabilitation center in the northeastern city of Salvador, were flown on an air force plane to southern Brazil and released into the ocean.
Experts hope a small group of older penguins released along with the young ones will help guide them south to Patagonia.
The penguins were fitted with bands on their flippers to determine the success of the rehabilitation.
Environmentalists say it is not known why the penguins were stranded so far north, but suggest they could have been carried beyond their usual range by a flow of warm water. (AP)
環保人士上週表示,莫名其妙被沖到巴西海灘的三百七十餘隻企鵝,已被專機送回南方,回到牠們嚴寒的棲息水域。
圍觀者在巴西南端看到這些小企鵝被放生回大海,且即刻就游走時,發出陣陣歡呼。這次是南美洲最大規模的企鵝放生行動。
最近幾個月來,將近有一千隻企鵝被沖到巴西北端海岸,其中約有兩成死亡,其他的企鵝也因健康情況不良而無法被送回原棲息地。
這些企鵝暫時被安置在巴西東北部薩爾瓦多市的動物養護中心,稍後即被空軍軍機運送回巴西南端海域釋放入海。
專家希望,與大批年輕企鵝一同放生的一些較年長企鵝,會協助帶領企鵝群向南返回巴塔哥尼亞。
這群企鵝腳蹼上被套上標記環,以確認牠們的康復情況。
環保人士說,他們不知道這群企鵝為甚麼會擱淺於這麼北端的沙灘上,但認為牠們應該是被一股溫暖的洋流挾沖而偏離了牠們原先的路徑。
(美聯社�翻譯︰袁星塵)
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