Mexico City, Jun. 16, (dpa/GNA) – Large numbers of seabirds along Mexico’s Pacific coast have starved to death, experts said on Thursday.
Increased water temperatures as a result of the climate phenomenon El Niño was likely responsible, the Mexico’s Ministry of Agriculture said.
The ministry said that bird flu had been ruled out as the cause of the mass bird deaths.
El Niño and its counterpart La Niña promote extreme weather in many regions of the world. El Niño drives up the global average temperature, while La Niña has a cooling effect. They appear alternately every few years.
Higher water temperatures cause fish to dive deeper into cooler waters, which prevents seabirds from feeding, the ministry said. Investigations and collection of biological samples were ongoing.
Hundreds of dead seabirds have recently washed up on Mexico’s Pacific coast, between the north-western state of Baja California and Chiapas in the south. They were mainly shearwaters, but also gulls and pelicans.
GNA