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Penguins land on Brazil’s beaches
Magellanic Penguins; photo by Eberhardt TRAVEL (source: Wikimedia Commons)
Stranded Magellanic Penguins occasionally wash up on the beaches of Brazil or are found at sea by local fishermen.
According to the president of the Niteroi Zoo near Rio de Janeiro, the zoo has been receiving stray penguins since 1999, at first only around two or three per year. But the numbers soon climbed: to around 100 penguins in 2004 and nearly 700 in 2008.
Magellanic Penguins commonly migrate north from Antarctica and Patagonia in search of fish, but for unknown reasons they are increasingly getting lost or sick and ending up in Brazil. Hundreds are being found dead on Rio’s beaches, including the famous Ipanema Beach.
From a CNN Eco Solutions report:
David Alves Dias is a beach vendor who works at the Ipanema Beach. He says that last winter, as he was getting ready to [begin] his day, he noticed some tiny creatures walking on the beach. At first he didn’t know what they were; but as he walked in their direction, he realized they were penguins.
Theories for Brazil’s influx of penguins include ocean pollution, overfishing, and even disrupted ocean currents resulting from global warming.
Check out this CNN video report for more:
Penguins lost in tropical Brazil
by Graham Land
Additional resources:
New York Times – The Penguins of Brazil
Tags: beach, beaches, Brazil, CNN, ipanema, lost, Magellanic, penguins, rio, zoo
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