MEXICO CITY, Mexico (24 Feb 2004) -- The corpses of 128 seals, nine dolphins and nine pelicans washed up on a beach in the Sea of Cortez, Mexico's government said on Monday. The government environmental watchdog Profepa said the animals were found over the weekend in the San Jorge bay in the Sea of Cortez, about 60 miles (100 km) south of the U.S. border. It launched an investigation of the deaths. "We are going to maintain a system of permanent vigilance where all of this happened to try to avoid more deaths," Profeca's head, Jose Luis Luege, said. It was not clear why the animals died, although local press said environmental authorities were investigating a possible link to drug traffickers' use of a substance that creates a luminous effect when thrown in the ocean. | | The substance is believed to be used to help locate drug shipments that are dumped at sea to be picked up later. The area is home to some of the largest seal colonies in the Sea of Cortez, which separates the Baja California peninsula from the rest of Mexico. SOURCE - Reuters |
