The majority of those that leave Argentina do not last the distance, and most either wash up dead or die soon after coming ashore. Those that do survive are exhausted after swimming more than 1,800 miles, and a large number have skin diseases, are weak through starvation, or have injuries inflicted by whales, sharks, or other ocean predators. Many of those that do make it to shore are picked up by well-meaning Brazilians, who take them home and put them in the freezer or the refrigerator, or, for some inexplicable reason, on top of the fridge. We've also had to tell people not to put them in the fridge or the freezer. That is terrible for them.
People have good intentions, but they die of hypothermia.
Ramos has traveled to Saquarema and neighboring towns dozens of times this year to collect stray birds and drive them back to a rehabilitation center at Rio Zoo. There, they are fed and cared for to help them recuperate from the stress of their incredible journey. When they are fit enough, Ramos sends the penguins to three other zoos and research centers from which they are shipped back to Argentina. The ones that have stayed behind with their new owners in Saquarema, meanwhile, are living la vida loca . At least two owners admitted they take their penguins swimming every day.