Dead penguins found on Uruguayan beaches

Dead penguins found on Uruguayan beaches

Uruguayan researchers have reported the finding of some 300 dead Magellanic penguins on local beaches, the NGO SOS Rescate Fauna Marina confirmed. The birds were said to be extremely thin and might have died due to cold weather on their annual migration from Argentine Patagonia to southern Brazil in search of food and warmer weather.

“Every year, during the migrations, there are some dead or sick animals, mainly the younger ones, but the numbers we saw this time put us on alert,” Rescate Fauna Marina said. The animals only approach the coast if they get sick, the NGO also explained.

Rescate Fauna Marina head Richard Tesore told Montevideo’s El Observador that most of the penguins found on beaches from Solymar to Aguas Dulces were very skinny, most likely due to the scarcity of food as a consequence of overfishing in the South Atlantic, in addition to climate change affecting sea currents. Several specimens were also poisoned by plastic elements in the sea.

“They are very skinny animals, without food in the stomach or a layer of fat. To make such a long journey, it is essential to ingest many calories and have a large layer of fat on the body, which acts as a thermal insulator and protects the animals from low temperatures. The animals died of hypothermia caused by lack of food. This happened due to the overexploitation of fisheries,” said the NGO.

Uruguay’s Ministry of Environment conducted several studies on the dead animals and ruled out bird flu, but nevertheless urged the population not to touch or remove the animals from the beach since the health alert for avian influenza is still in force.