Southern Chile dubbed a 'graveyard' for wildlife

Wednesday, April 27, 2016, 1:13 PM - In 2015, southern Chile became home to the largest beaching event in history. One year and several mass beachings later, and the region has earned a new title: marine graveyard.

In April, thousands of dead sardines swamped southern Chile's Queule River.

The swamping occurred almost a year after 337 sei whales washed up on the coast of southern Chile's Patagonia region, and mere months after thousands of squid washed ashore the Island of Santa Maria in Chile's south.

The cause of death in all three circumstances remains undetermined.

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Sei whales are endangered, and scientists hypothesize that a toxic red tide might have played a role in the mass marine deaths along the shores.

Human interference has been ruled out as a cause in one of the three cases, though many speculate Chile's recent oil spill might have a distant connection to the rampant marine deaths. In September 2014 than 21,000 litres of oil spilled into Quintero Bay, devastating local fisheries and wildlife.

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SOURCE: National Geographic | The Guardian | Reuters | Playground + |