Mass mortality of Magellanic penguins has been recorded along the coastline of Uruguay, as thousands of dead birds were washed ashore in the Atlantic Ocean. The Argentine newspaper Clarin reported on, July 22.
"We are facing high penguin mortality, primarily here in the city of La Paloma, but it has affected the entire coastline of Uruguay," said Pablo Sena, a representative of the local administration.
According to Carmen Leisagoyen, the head of the marine fauna department at the Uruguayan Ministry of Environment, finding dead penguins on the coast during this time of the year is a normal occurrence, but the number of discovered birds is unprecedented.
"It is normal for some percentage to die, but not in such quantities," she stated, recalling a similar mass mortality event that occurred in Brazil last year under unknown circumstances.
Magellanic penguins nest in the southern regions of Argentina. During the winter period, which falls between the end of June and the end of September in the Southern Hemisphere, they migrate northwards to find food in warmer waters and can reach the coasts of Brazil.
Environmental advocates associate the increasing number of penguin deaths with excessive overfishing and illegal fishing practices.
"Since the 1990s and 2000s, we have started to see animals that lack food. Resources are being excessively exploited," cited Richard Tesore from the non-governmental organization SOS Marine Wildlife Rescue.
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