The Great Penguin Rescue: 40,000 Penguins, a Devastating Oil Spill, and the Inspiring Story of the World's Largest Animal Rescue

On June 23, 2000, the iron ore carrier MV Treasure foundered off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa, spilling 1,300 tons of oil into the ocean and contaminating the habitat of 75,000 penguins—thus threatening to decimate 41 percent of the world’s population of African penguins. A massive rescue effort was launched, with penguin expert Dyan deNapoli—better known as The Penguin Lady—serving as a rehabilitation supervisor. By the end of a grueling, but ultimately rewarding, three months, she and her fellow volunteers had de-oiled, nursed back to health, and released into the wild nearly all of the affected birds. The Great Penguin Rescue is the extraordinary and heartwarming true story of the world’s largest and most successful wildlife rescue and a moving portrait of these captivating birds.