Hundreds of Baby Penguins Wash Ashore in Brazil

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The dead penguins are supposed to have been swept to the Brazilian beaches from the icy shores of Antarctica and Patagonia regions.

Eduardo Pimenta, superintendent for the state coastal protection and environment agency in the resort city of Cabo Frio, told Discovery Channel that most of the dead ones are babies.

Some penguins both dead and alive are swept by strong ocean currents from the Strait of Magellan, but this year there is a rapid increase in the penguin deaths.

Usually Brazil ships the recovered penguins back to their original homes either in Antarctica or Patagonia.

The experts are trying to find the exact cause for this increase in the deaths and are divided over the possible causes.

Thiago Muniz, a veterinarian at the Niteroi Zoo, believes “overfishing” might be the main reason. Overfishing has caused the penguins to swim further from the shores to find fishes to eat and leaves them vulnerable to getting caught up in the strong ocean currents.

He also cites pollution for the penguin deaths. Muniz’s zoo already has rescued more than 100 penguins this year and is giving them treatment. Many of them are drenched in petroleum. The offshore Campos oil field supplies most of Brazil’s oil; it might be causing this pollution.

Muniz told AP that they didn’t see other pollutants affecting penguins they have treated so far.

Eduardo Pimenta also blames pollution. He told AP:

Aside from the oil in the Campos basin, the pollution is lowering the animals' immunity, leaving them vulnerable to funguses and bacteria that attack their lungs.

But Erli Costa of Rio de Janeiro’s Federal University blames weather patterns instead.

He told AP:

I don't think the levels of pollution are high enough to affect the birds so quickly. I think instead we're seeing more young and sick penguins because of global warming, which affects ocean currents and creates more cyclones, making the seas rougher.

Costa said that is the reason we are seeing more baby penguins washing ashore: they are searching for food.

Whether the pollution or the weather pattern is the culprit, I hope the scientists find a solution soon. The beaches in Brazil are beautiful but it won't look beautiful with dead penguins strewn all over the place.