2023-07-22 07:46:36
Nearly 2,000 dead penguins have been found in ten days on the eastern coast of Uruguay. The cause of this carnage, which remains unexplained, does not seem to be avian flu, local authorities said.
According to her, “90% are young specimens that arrive without fat reserves and with an empty stomach”. The tests carried out to determine the presence of the avian flu are negative, she added.
This species of penguin, which nests in southern Argentina, migrates north in search of warmer waters during the southern winter, and can go up to the coasts of the Brazilian state of Espirito Santo (southeast).
“It is normal for a certain percentage to die, but not as many,” noted Ms. Leizagoyen, recalling that a similar slaughter had taken place last year in Brazil, again for an unknown cause.
Conservationists blame Magellanic penguin mortality on overfishing and illegal fishing. “From the 1990s and 2000s, we started to see animals starving for food,” lamented Richard Tesore, from the NGO SOS Marine Wildlife Rescue.
According to him, the cyclone that appeared in the Atlantic that hit southeastern Brazil in mid-July had probably led to the death of the most weakened individuals, due to bad weather conditions.
In addition to penguins, Mr Tesore says he has found dead petrels, albatrosses, seagulls, sea turtles and sea lions on the beaches of Maldonado, east of the Uruguayan capital Montevideo.
© AFP
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