At least six specimens of the southern right whale died in the last hours on the coast of the Villa Balnearia de Puerto Pirámides, on the Valdés Peninsula, and the causes that caused the deaths are being investigated.
At the moment there is no official or precise information on the reasons that triggered the deaths, but it is presumed that a phytotoxin present in the whales’ food could have caused the death of these specimens.
It would be a toxin from the “red tide”, a phenomenon that affects molluscs at this time of year, for which their consumption is dangerous, while it is estimated that aquatic animals would have ingested that toxin during their diet and, although they were in good health, they suffered deadly effects.
Meanwhile, it was indicated that some of the affected specimens were transferred on Tuesday to the coast of Puerto Pirámides, where personnel from the Whale Conservation Institute (ICB), the Patagonian National Center (CENPAT) and the National University of Patagonia began with necropsies to establish the exact cause of death.