Global News - July 2008

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Penguin deaths baffle Brazilian conservationists

Tue 22 July 2008 14:00 UK — South America,Birds

Conservationists are concerned after hundreds of dead penguins were washed onto Brazil's shore.

The Associated Press (AP) reported that over 400 penguins, including a number of babies, have been found on beaches close to Rio de Janeiro in the last two months.

According to the report, the state's coastal protection and environment agency said that it was relatively common for both dead and alive penguins to be washed onto Brazil's shore, but that the numbers recorded in recent months were far higher than at any time in the past.

Some experts suggested that over-fishing was forcing the birds to travel further in search of food, explaining why they were appearing in Brazil.

However, others said that pollution was to blame. Eduardo Pimenta, superintendent of the coastal protection and environment agency explained to the AP: "Pollution is lowering the animals' immunity, leaving them vulnerable to funguses and bacteria that attack their lungs."

Biologist Erli Costa of Rio de Janeiro's Federal University told the news agency that he believed changing weather patterns were responsible.

He said: "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."

Recently, scientists suggested that penguins could be used as a way of assessing human impact on the world's oceans.

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