Over the past ten days about 2000 Magellanic penguins found dead on the east coast of Uruguay.

Carmen Leyzagoyen, head of the fauna department Ministry of the Environment of Uruguay, He stated that most of the animals were young penguins that died in the Atlantic and were washed up by the currents on the beaches of the Canelones, Maldonado and Rocha departments, bordering Brazil.

According to the Uruguayan media, Leyzagoyen explained that allPenguins tested negative for bird fluTherefore, this situation represents “mortality in the water”, since approximately 90% of the penguins reached the coast without fat stores and with empty stomachs.

Magellanic penguins usually nest in the south of Argentina and migrate north in winter. looking for food and warm water even reaching the coast of the Brazilian state of Espírito Santo, Uruguay’s Ministry of the Environment explained.

“Magellan penguins usually migrate from southern Argentina to the coast of Brazil in search of food and warmer waters, so the appearance of individuals, especially young ones, on our coasts is normal,” they said.

However, the South American country’s conservation authorities said that given the large number of dead penguins reaching its shores, research to find out why.

Environmentalists point out that the increase in Magellanic penguin deaths is due to overfishing and illegal fishing. Richard Tesore, NGO Representative Marine life rescue SOSexplained to the Uruguayan media that since the 1990s and 2000s, they have observed animals with a lack of food due to overexploitation of resources.

Tesore also mentioned that an extratropical cyclone in the Atlantic that struck southeast Brazil in mid-July likely contributed to the deaths of weaker penguins. due to bad weather. In addition to penguins, lifeless petrels, albatrosses, gulls, sea turtles and sea lions have been found on the beaches of Maldonado.