Penguins are adorable creatures which is why it's hard to imagine something devastatingly bad happening to them. As such, a recent incident might not sit well with penguin lovers as thousands of these flightless birds were spotted washing up on the shore of South America.
Dead Penguins Spotted
According to Science Alert, thousands of penguins were found in Uruguay just washing up on the beaches. This incident happened in July, where around 2,000 flightless birds were found. These penguins were also discovered to have empty stomachs.
What makes this news even heavier is that they were also described to be "tremendously thin." In a Phys.org report, Carmen Leizagoyen, a worker for Environment Ministry of Uruguay, said that the mortality was in the water and that most of the penguins found didn't have any fat reserves. Specifically, 90% of them were found to have empty stomachs as the cause for this mass mortality event remains unknown.
Scientists Blame Climate Change
While there haven't been studies to specifically pinpoint what had caused the mass deaths, scientists are stating that they could be because of extreme climate change. The particular penguins that washed up dead were Magellanic penguins, otherwise known as Spheniscus magellanicus.
According to Animal Diversity, these penguins can be found south of Chile, north of Argentina, and the Falkland Islands. The report also detailed that, when these penguins were last assessed in 2010, they were categorized as "near threatened" by the IUCN Red List.
Since 2004, these penguins held the status as "near threatened" and it remains to be so for the past 30 years. As such, it's also becoming more common for hundreds of these birds to be found dead along the South American east coast.
In 2010, over 550 penguins passed away due to starvation. The same incident happened where these penguins were found on Brazil's beaches; and just two years later, 745 penguins were discovered dead on the coastline.
Reasons Behind the Mass Die-Offs
Science Alert reports that the incident could be due to different reasons as not all of them had the same causes. It was noted that some years had rising temperatures as the main threat, like in 2019.
During that year, 354 penguins died around locations in Argentina that experienced extreme heat waves. These penguins died at their nesting sites.
For other years, the cause of death could have come from other reasons like starvation. Scientists are also entertaining that other causes of death could also include hypothermia, which is still related to temperature, and storms.
Science Alert also highlights that one strong detail in relation to the massive die-offs would depend on where these penguins are when it comes to their migration. For example, in winter, these penguins migrate from southern Argentina to the north in search of warmer water and better food.
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