This is the moment several penguin carcasses are filmed lined up after some 50 of the dead birds were mysteriously found washed up on beaches in Brazil.
The penguins were found between the beaches of Balneario Gaivota and Balneario Arroio do Silva, which lie roughly 15 miles apart, in the south of Brazil’s southern state of Santa Catarina.
They were found during a monitoring operation by the NGO Educamar, which works in marine life protection and environmental education, on Saturday, 7th August.
Credit: @educamarbrasil/Newsflash
Of the 59 penguins found, 10 were found alive but extremely weak.
The NGO posted to Facebook: “Many young individuals end up getting lost in ocean currents. In yesterday’s monitoring, however, many adult individuals were seen dead.
“Dead adults are a strong indicator of human causes of penguin deaths, such as pollution and incidents with the fishing industry.
“It should be noted that many of these individuals arrived on the beach alive and could have been properly rehabilitated and reintroduced into the sea.
“However, as there is no stabilisation centre in the region and not even transport logistics to the nearest centre, all penguins that arrive alive lose any chance of returning alive to the ocean.
“A very sad situation. Human action is the cause of most beached penguins and then they are totally left to their own fate.”
The NGO managed to rescue three of the survivors, taking them to another municipality in the state. Two pulled through and were sent for rehabilitation.
The NGO counted the number of dead penguins, marking them with a non-toxic spray, before leaving them on the sand to serve as food for other animals.
The penguins found were Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus), which breed in coastal Patagonia.
At least six of the same species were found dead on a beach in the municipality of Itapema, on Santa Catarina’s northern coast, some 139 miles away as the crow flies over the same weekend.
It is not known if the two incidents are connected.
More than 50 dead penguins found in Santa Catarina in Brazil, in August 2021. 
More than 50 dead penguins found in Santa Catarina in Brazil, in August 2021.
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Story By: William McGee, Sub-Editor: James King, Agency: Newsflash
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