Authorities on Saturday reported that around 2,000 dead penguins have mysteriously washed up on the coast of eastern Uruguay over the last 10 days. As the cause of their death is unclear and does not appear to be avian influenza.
Eastern Uruguay’s coast has become the site of a tragic and puzzling phenomenon. As approximately 2,000 Magellanic penguins were discovered dead in the last 10 days. Authorities are grappling with the mystery behind this devastating die-off, which is not linked to avian influenza, according to reports.
The deceased penguins, primarily juveniles, were found on the Atlantic Ocean’s shores after being carried by ocean currents. As revealed by Carmen Leizagoyen, the head of the Environment Ministry’s Department of Fauna. Disturbingly, around 90 percent of the casualties lacked fat reserves and displayed empty stomachs. Indicating severe challenges they faced while at sea.
Magellanic penguins nest in southern Argentina and migrate north in search of food and warmer waters in the southern hemisphere winter. They even reach the coast of the Brazilian state of Espirito Santo.
“It is normal for some percentage to die, but not these numbers,” Leizagoyen said. Eecalling a similar incident that occurred last year in Brazil, for reasons that remain unclear. Environmental advocates attribute the increase in Magellanic penguin deaths to overfishing and illegal fishing.
Cause of Death
“From the 1990s and 2000s, we began to see animals with a lack of food. The resource is overexploited,” Richard Tesore, of the NGO SOS Marine Wildlife Rescue. A subtropical cyclone in the Atlantic, hit southeastern Brazil in mid-July. Probably caused the weakest animals to die from the inclement weather, he added.
The geographic range of the Magellanic penguin is limited to the Falkland Islands. Several nearshore islands along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of southern South America. However, some individuals have traveled as far as Peru, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, and the Antarctic Peninsula.
In addition to penguins, recent study found dead petrels, albatrosses, seagulls, sea turtles and sea lions on the beaches of Maldonado, another coastal city in southeastern Uruguay.