The death of a penguin after ingesting an

N95 mask

in Brazil has raised the concern of environmentalists about the growing

increase in the "residues of the pandemic"

of coronavirus, which pose a new threat to the increasingly vulnerable marine fauna.

The penguin was found dead a week ago on

Juquehy beach

, on the north coast of

Sao Paulo

, and was subjected to an autopsy by the

NGO Argonauta Institute for Coastal and Marine Conservation

, focused on the rehabilitation of marine species affected by the waste thrown into the sea.

During the procedure, a black mask model N95 was located inside the animal's stomach, which was

extremely weakened

, as confirmed by the NGO on Wednesday.

The president of the Argonauta Institute, the oceanographer

Hugo Gallo Neto

, highlighted the problems that are being generated by the inappropriate disposal of waste, especially what he described as "garbage from the pandemic."

"For some time we have been finding masks, we have located about 135 at the moment, and the case of the penguin is the first of an animal that probably died from ingesting garbage from the pandemic," Gallo said in statements to Efe.

The

Magellanic penguins

migrate every year from

Argentine Patagonia

in search of food, but some of them get lost from the group and end up being found on the beaches of Brazil.

"The animals are found during this period, often weak and lacking in care", according to biologist

Carla Beatriz Barbosa

.

The animals that are found alive by the Institute are transferred to rehabilitation centers and later returned to the wild, while those that appear dead are subjected to a necropsy.

"It is a very serious problem and

Brazil has an inefficient policy in combating the issue of garbage in the sea

. This is due to a problem of education of the population, management, supervision and legislation by the public power," he added .

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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