Some wildlife experts have blamed offshore oil for poisoning the migrants from far cooler climates, while others say climate change has made ocean currents so strong that the birds are unable to out-swim them while in search of food.

Thiago Muniz, a veterinarian at the Niteroi Zoo, said the facility has received about 100 penguins for treatment this year, with many drenched in oil. Some believe that oil may have come from drilling in Brazil’s offshore Campos basin.

Environmental official Eduardo Pimenta says exposure to the oil has lowered the animals’ immunity, “leaving them vulnerable to funguses and bacteria that attack their lungs.”

A variety of factors brings some penguins from Antarctica and South America’s Patagonia region to Brazil’s tropical beaches every year.

The country airlifts dozens of them back to their usual habitat after veterinarians give them a clean bill of health.

Photo: Niteroi Zoo
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