Eco-news in brief 4-24
By CG News Editor Kelly Doran
877 dolphins washed ashore in Peru this year
As of last Thursday, 877 dolphins have washed up on a 137-mile stretch from Punta Aguja to Lambayeque in Peru this year. According to Gabriel Quijandria, Peruvian Deputy Environment Minister, the dolphins might have died of Morbillivirus or Brucella bacteria. His hypothesis is that a virus outbreak is the most likely the cause of their deaths. However, over 80 percent of the dolphins were found in an advanced state of decomposition, which has made it difficult to study their deaths. Officials have ruled out lack of food, interaction with fisheries, poisoning with pesticides, contamination by heavy metals or biotoxin poisoning.
White killer whale spotted off the coast of Russia
Scientists have recently made what is believed to be the first sighting of an adult white orca, otherwise known as a killer whale. They have named the whale, a male, Iceberg. He was spotted off of the coast of Kamchatka, Russia. Erich Hoyt, a senior research fellow with the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, said that the male is a least 16 years old but probably older. Researchers are reluctant to take a biopsy from Iceberg but hope for closer observations.
Irene Lane names 10 favorite eco lodges
Irene Lane, founder Greenloons.com, an eco-travel agency, gave 10 favorite green lodges to USA TODAY:
- Luna Lodge in Costa Rica
- Alpine House Inn & Cottages in Jackson Hole, WY
- Trout Point Lodge in Nova Scotia, Canada
- Kenai Fjords Glacier Lodge in Alaska
- Hacienda San Jose in Merida, Mexico
- Yachana Lodge in Ecuador
- Refugio Amazonas Lodge in Peru
- Campi Ya Kanzi Lodge in Kenya
- The Lodge at Chaa Creek in Belize
- Chateau Mcely in Czech Republic
