The dolphins may have
died from an outbreak of Morbillivirus or Brucella bacteria, said
Peruvian Deputy Environment Minister Gabriel Quijandria, according to
Peru's state-run Andina news agency. He said he expects
test results to be ready within the week.
"Right now, the most probable hypothesis is that it's a virus outbreak," he said.
Quijandria said Thursday
that 877 dolphins have washed up in a 220-kilometer (137-mile) area from
Punta Aguja to Lambayeque, in the north of the country.
More than 80% of those
dolphins were found in an advanced state of decomposition, making it
difficult to study their deaths, according to Andina.
Earlier last week, the
Peruvian government put together a panel from different ministries to
analyze a report by the Peruvian Sea Institute (IMARPE). Officials have
been able to conclude that the dolphins' deaths were not due to lack of
food, interaction with fisheries, poisoning with pesticides, biotoxin
poisoning or contamination by heavy metals.
"When you have something
this large, my gut would tell me that there's something traumatic that
happened," Sue Rocca, a marine biologist with the Whale and Dolphin
Conservation Society, said. She floated a number of number of
possibilities as to what could have killed the animals, including
acoustic trauma, but concluded that investigators just don't know yet.
"More investigation needs to be done," she said.
The dolphin deaths in Peru are mark the third set of high-profile strandings in about two months.
In February, 179
dolphins --108 of which were dead -- washed ashore in Cape Cod, in
eastern United States, according to the International Fund for Animal
Welfare. Marine biologists are still trying to determine the cause of
those deaths.
In early March, amateur
video taken from a beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, showed more than 30
dolphins on shore. In that instance, all dolphins were safely returned
to the sea.
Source: CNN News
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