Veterinarians have found success in the past using such suits to treat injured dogs and cats. Now they're trying out the technology on Humboldt penguins in Chile, home to the largest concentration of the vulnerable species<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cFor years, vests with microfibers containing elements like copper and zinc have been tested on pets, particularly dogs and cats, and have greatly helped in the recovery of skin wounds,\u201d said Ignacio Idalsoaga, director of the Buin Zoo, a wildlife park on the outskirts of Chile\u2019s capital, Santiago, where researchers took measurements of penguins to develop the first bodysuits.<\/p>\n \u201cWe began to wonder \u2014 why can't this be used on penguins?" he told The Associated Press from the zoo on Wednesday.<\/p>\n The experiment comes as Chile's Humboldt penguin population declines sharply. Chilean and international researchers surveying the country's major breeding colonies in 2024 and 2025 found a 63% drop in active nests compared to the same sites three years earlier. The birds face mounting threats, including entanglement in fishing nets, plastic pollution, disease outbreaks and competition with fisheries for food.<\/p>\n Now Humboldt penguins also find themselves in the cross hairs<\/a> of one of the world\u2019s most disruptive weather patterns<\/a>, El Nino, which brings unusually warm waters to parts of the Pacific Ocean, making the cold-water fish that they rely on harder to find. Hunger forces penguin parents to travel farther afield for food and leave their nests behind. <\/p>\n \u201cEspecially now, with all the problems caused by El Nino, we\u2019re likely to see many abandoned chicks in the coming weeks, with injuries they suffer in the environment,\u201d Idalsoaga said.<\/p>\n <\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n Wildlife clinics across Chile receive distressed penguins stranded along Chile's coast, some cut by fishing nets or boat propellers, others weakened by a lack of food, said Tom\u00e1s Pino, a veterinarian who runs Conservaci\u00f3n Humboldt, a nonprofit that rehabilitates injured marine animals in the country's north. <\/p>\n Treating those injuries can be tricky. Penguins often twist their long necks to peck at gashes and pull out their own stitches, Pino said. The vests prevent them from doing that while putting copper<\/a> \u2014 of which Chile is the world\u2019s top producer<\/a> \u2014 to work as a salve. Copper and zinc woven into the fabric inhibit the growth of bacteria and fungi. Zinc also stimulates the formation of new blood vessels, helping damaged tissue heal faster.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve seen that the penguins tolerate it quite well,\u201d Pino said. \u201cWe noticed that from one day to the next, the wounds were in better condition with the vest."<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Follow AP\u2019s Latin America coverage at https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/latin-america<\/a><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/50288b8f-38d3-484c-a462-b06808832e4a\/dwts-2-ht-abc-gmh-260901_1788296745840_hpMain_square.jpg?w=208\"\/)
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