Death of 3000 dolphins in Peru – was it a fallout of deep-sea oil exploration?

Lambayeque : Peru | Apr 15, 2012 at 5:08 AM PDT

By prabirghose

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As many as 615 dead dolphins have washed up on a 90-mile stretch of the beaches near the city of Lambayeque of Peru in a single day last week as reported in Mailonline.com dated15th April 2012.

The death toll of bottlenose dolphins in the region has crossed the 3000 mark in a year and there is alarm – environmentalists are naturally worried because the cause of death remains a mystery.

One theory is that the deaths are due to the exploration of the sea beds for oil.

This activity makes use of sonar technology and releasing sonic blasts which can affect the tender hearing systems of the dolphins - the membranes of the ear splits. One of the results of this is disorientation and the dolphins lose all sense of direction.

The US has already suspended sonar blast activities in the Gulf of Mexico up to May, when the calving season comes to an end, since dead and sick dolphins had been sighted on the beaches there.

However, the possibility is not totally ruled out that so many deaths could be due to other causes – like some sort of disease or epidemic.

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615 dead dolphins on the Peru beach

prabirghose is based in Nāshik, Maharashtra, India, and is an Anchor for Allvoices.

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