Over 500 of the world's smallest penguins have been found dead off the coast of New Zealand in the last few months.. Experts can't say for sure what caused the death of the birds, but they think climate change played a role, according to Live Science..

Groups of dead little Eudyptula minor penguins, known as korora, have been spotted on New Zealand beaches since early May.. The largest was a group of 183 dead birds, later another 109 dead penguins were found in the same place.. Last week, another group of dead birds was found, consisting of about 100 individuals.. According to the New Zealand Department of Conservation, other cases of death of penguins were recorded, found from a couple to dozens of bodies of these birds..

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No clear cause of death was found, but experts noted that most of the penguins were significantly underweight.. They should weigh about 800 grams - a kilogram, but most birds weighed half that..

“They just had no fat, almost no muscle was visible.. When they reach this stage of exhaustion, they cannot dive,” said Graham Taylor, a seabird scientist.. This eventually causes the birds to starve or die of hypothermia because they don't have a protective layer of fat..

Depleted penguins indicate they weren't getting enough fish. This, in turn, may be a sign of overfishing by humans.. However, according to Taylor, rising temperatures in the surface layers of the ocean, caused by climate change and La Nina, have forced the fish into deeper waters where penguins cannot reach them..

According to Taylor, these penguins can dive to a depth of 20 to 30 meters, but no deeper.. As emphasized by the publication, ironically, in Latin, the name of the penguin species is translated as “good little diver.”.

This hypothesis may explain why New Zealand's South Island penguins didn't die.. The water temperature near the surface there remained much lower than further north..

The New Zealand government lists little penguins as a species at risk of population decline.. According to Bird Life International, there are now 500,000 adults in the wild.. Other threats to this species include dogs, cats, and other invasive species that eat bird eggs..

In 2021, the entire population, 3,000 little penguins, of Tasmania was destroyed by Tasmanian devils, which were brought to the island by animal rights activists.

This is not the first mass death of little penguins in New Zealand.. Similar incidents occur about once a decade, either due to feeding difficulties or severe storms.. However, this is the third mass death of these birds in the last 10 years, which is a matter of concern..

Recall that last year a lone Adelie penguin, which the locals called Pingu, was spotted on the coast of New Zealand.. It's 3500 kilometers from his native Antarctica.