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Dead penguins wash ashore in Brazil
Ricardo Moraes / AP A penguin, rescued off the coast of Rio de Janeiro by the Brazilian Coast Guard, receives treatment from a veterinarian at Niteroi Zoo in Rio de Janeiro on Friday. Officials say more than 400 penguins have been found dead on the state's shores over the past two months.
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More from WorldRIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — Hundreds of baby penguins swept from the icy shores of Antarctica and Patagonia are washing up dead on Rio de Janeiro's tropical beaches, rescuers and penguin experts said Friday.
More than 400 penguins, most of them young, have been found dead on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro state over the past two months, according to Eduardo Pimenta, superintendent for the state coastal protection and environment agency in the resort city of Cabo Frio.
While it is common here to find some penguins — both dead and alive — swept by strong ocean currents from the Strait of Magellan, Pimenta said there have been more this year than at any time in recent memory.
Rescuers and those who treat penguins are divided over the possible causes.
Thiago Muniz, a veterinarian at the Niteroi Zoo, said he believed overfishing has forced the penguins to swim farther from shore to find fish to eat "and that leaves them more vulnerable to getting caught up in the strong ocean currents."
Niteroi already has already received about 100 penguins for treatment this year and many are drenched in petroleum, Muniz said.
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