Fifteen rehabilitated penguins return to sea off Argentina coast

Fifteen penguins returned to the sea in San Clemente del Tuyu on Friday (April 17) after months of rehabilitation at Fundacion Mundo Marino (Marine World Foundation), according to the conservation group. 

The group included 13 Magellanic penguins and two Southern Rockhopper penguins that had been rescued at different points along the coast of Buenos Aires province between June 2025 and March 2026, according to the foundation. 

The biologist in charge of rescue and rehabilitation at the foundation, Sergio Rodriguez Heredia, said most were admitted with dehydration, malnutrition, hypothermia and high parasite loads, a condition known as stranded penguin syndrome. 

According to the foundation, some birds also arrived with wounds consistent with fishing net cuts, one showed injuries attributed to a dog attack, and one adult rockhopper penguin rescued in Pinamar was covered in oil. 

The penguins were released together because Magellanic penguins are social animals that migrate in groups, and April coincided with the start of their northward journey after the breeding season in Patagonia.

-Miguel Lo Bianco, Claudia Martini, Hugo Monnet/Reuters