Mass death of penguins. About 500 dead birds washed up on the banks of the Brazilian state of São Paulo
About 500 penguins have been found dead on the beaches in Sao Paulo over the past 10 days, said Thiago do Nascimento, a biologist at the Peruibe Aquarium.
Most of the birds killed are Magellanic Penguins, who migrated from Argentina, Chile and the Falkland Islands in search of food in warm waters. Many of them did not find it: autopsies of several penguins showed that their stomachs were completely empty. Perhaps it was hunger that caused their death.
Scientists are trying to establish whether strong currents and colder than usual waters caused the disappearance of food for penguins, or whether humans played a role in this. One of the possible reasons, the researchers call overfishing, as a result of which the number of fish and squid has significantly decreased.
It is normal for penguins to migrate north in search of food at this time of year. Of course, some of them get lost along the way, die of hunger or exhaustion, and end up on the beaches of Brazil. But not in such quantities. On average, 100-150 live penguins and about 10 dead penguins are seen on the beaches of Brazil per year.