MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Unusual dead fauna appearance reported on Uruguayan shores: 80 penguins and a whale

“We have no idea what is happening,” RFM's Tesore told reporters

Over 80 penguins, many of them trapped in a fishing net, and a dead whale were reported Wednesday to have appeared on the Atlantic Ocean shores of the Uruguayan department of Maldonado by the NGO SOS Rescate Fauna Marina (RFM).

Dead animals have been surfacing at Maldonado's coast for more than two weeks and the cause of their deaths is unknown, RFM Director Richard Tesore told El Observador, but he added that “we have no idea what is happening.” Tesore insisted “it is not normal” to find “so many” dead animals on the coast.

The whale was at least 18 meters long, El Observador noted. The NGO has also received reports about lifeless turtles and dolphins in the area, while four dead sea lions were also retrieved.

Tesore explained some of the penguins would undergo a post-mortem to determine their cause of death and that the findings would be conveyed to the National Directorate of Aquatic Resources (Dinara).

He also pointed out that dead animals had been found at least a fortnight ago and ruled out cold water temperatures were linked to the death of the animals since whales have “no problem with the cold.”

According to Tesore, Atlantic Ocean waters in the area were below 8 °C.