According to the Mirror on April 28, about 20 penguins have been washed onto the beaches of South Australia's Fleurieu Peninsula this month alone, exceeding the total number of deaths in the region in 2021. Scientists have launched a comprehensive investigation to find out why.
Stephen Hedges, a volunteer at Flinders University in Adelaide, is looking for penguin carcasses and severed heads. This may allow scientists to better study why the penguin's head was removed. Since the deaths occurred at sea, direct human intervention has been ruled out.
Mr Hedges said fishing boat propellers could lead to causes of death. This is based on the conclusion that there are a large number of ships in the area.
"We used to have one or two washed up on the beach every month, but now (in April) I've collected 15 to 20, sometimes 3 a day," he said. The penguins' heads are "fairly clean and neat", as if they were cut off directly by such a fast and sharp thing.
Hedges suspects that a recent tuna fishing competition nearby may have attracted penguins to approach the boat.
Others say it may be caused by waves, currents and climatic conditions.
Hutches said it would take scientists two to three weeks to find the exact cause.
Back in September 2021, a swarm of bees killed 63 endangered African penguins on a beach in South Africa.
At the time, clinical veterinarian David Roberts said, "After testing, we found bee bites around the penguin's eyes." No trauma was found on these birds at the time.
It turns out that the existence of every creature has its own threat, cherishing nature, protecting the environment, and perhaps coexisting for a longer time.
(Source: The Mirror, Bing)