Nearly 2,000 dead Magellanic penguins have washed ashore on beaches in Uruguay in the past 10 days. It is not known why so many penguins died.

Authorities in Uruguay determined that the penguins did not have bird flu, but most of them were young and may have died of starvation.

They died at sea. 90 percent of them are young, have no fat reserves and have an empty stomach, says Carmen Laizaguin of Uruguay’s Ministry of the Environment.

According to the WWF World Wildlife Fund, this species of penguin is not considered an endangered species.

Suspected poaching

Magellanic penguins nest along the coast of Argentina, but migrate north in search of food and warmer waters in the summer.

Some percentage of them die permanently, but not that many, says Leizagoyen.

Environmentalists believe that overfishing has contributed to the starvation of young penguins.

– In the 1990s, we started seeing animals that lacked food. Resources are being exploited, says Richard Tesseur of Marine Wildlife Rescue.

Hurricane in Brazil

It is believed that the hurricane that hit southeastern Brazil in mid-July may also have contributed to the death of the weakest animals.

In addition to dead penguins, dead petrels, albatrosses, seagulls, sea turtles and sea lions have also recently been found along beaches in Uruguay, says Tesur.