500 Dead Sea Lions Found on Peru Beach

At least 500 dead sea lions washed ashore a  beach in  Santa province, 400 km  north of Lima in Peru.

The rotting carcases were of adult and  juvenile  sea lions and they were so decomposed that it was hard to determine the cause of  death, the BBC reports.

The governor of the Samanco district believes that the sea creatures might have been poisoned and has written to the authorities to look into the matter. He said that local fishermen and mariners poison the lions when they come ashore looking for sea food like scallops.

This is not the first time that dead sea animals have been found on the beaches of Peru.  Just some days ago, nearly 200 dead sea lions, pelicans, dolphins and turtles were found dead on another beach. 1117 dead sea lions believed to have died of starvation, were found earlier in October in northwestern Peru.

In 2012, nearly 900 dead dolphins  turned up on Peru's northern coast, with an official saying they died of "natural causes," CNN reported.

The local news agency Andina reported that officials are investigating the matter.

These sudden unexplained deaths need a thorough investigation to determine whether they are due to natural causes, man-made or environmental.

IN 2009,  the sea lions in the San Francisco  area  completely disappeared.  Scientist at that time blamed the El Nino effect for it and also said that sea lions are migratory.