The mystery surrounding the deaths of at least 877 dolphins in Peru
has deepened as the government said human activity was not to blame but
failed to pinpoint a natural cause for the massive die-off. A final report from the Peruvian government's Ocean Institute, which
manages one of the world's richest marine ecosystems, said the dolphins
did not die from a lack of food, hunting by fishermen, poison from
pesticides, heavy metal contamination, an infection or a virus. It also said there was no conclusive evidence that linked seismic
offshore exploration by oil companies to the deaths of the long-beaked
common dolphins along the Andean country's northern coast. But it did leave open the possibility that abnormally warm surface
water temperatures and high levels of algae may have played a role,
saying further analysis would be needed to determine if any red and
brown plankton species in the sea were toxic.
"The dolphins were killed by natural causes and not due to any human
activity - that is what you might say is the major conclusion," said
Minister of Production Gladys Triveno, who oversees the government's
Ocean Institute. However, ORCA, a local NGO, says the deaths occurred after seismic
events - which locals attribute to exploration by oil companies -
damaged the ears of the sound-sensitive mammals and caused them to
surface too rapidly. "We found cells that had injuries due to bubbles that are associated
with decompression sickness," said Carlos Yaipn-Llanos, director of
ORCA.
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| worldnews.msnbc.msn.com |
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