Research carried out by the Mexican ministries of Agriculture and the Environment showed that the birds were not infected with the ‘AH5N1’ virus, which is responsible for avian flu. The animals reportedly died of starvation, it sounds.
“The most likely cause is the warming of the waters of the Pacific Ocean, due to the effects of the El Niño climate phenomenon,” the ministries said. Due to the warming of the surface of the Pacific Ocean, fish swim deeper into the sea, preventing birds from hunting them.
Among the dead birds were mainly shearwaters – a vulnerable species – gulls and pelicans. The birds die at sea and then wash up on the beach.
El Niño is a natural phenomenon characterized by rising temperatures, increasing drought in certain parts of the world and heavy rainfall in other areas. The last time the weather phenomenon occurred was in 2018 and 2019. Then El Niño gave way to a remarkably long period of La Niña, which does the opposite and has a cooling effect.