In 1968, an oil spill off the coast of South Africa killed an estimated 15,000 penguins. Volunteers from around the world raced to help clean and care for birds caught in the spill. The spill came during the breeding season and fouled the birds' nesting beaches. To save as many penguins as possible, rescuers had to evacuate the birds before they got caught in the oil. Racing ahead of the spill, volunteers captured adults and chicks on the breeding beaches, then released them in clean ocean hundreds of miles away.
Penguins can navigate across long distances.
Rescuers marked some birds with radio collars to follow their journey home. The first penguins got back three weeks after the spill, stepping ashore on beaches scrubbed clean by volunteers. Scientists will monitor the penguins to see if this spill has any lasting effects. Civilization has taken over parts of the blackfooted penguins' habitat. Oil isn't the only threat to penguins.