Environment · 2026-10-21 · Afternoon briefing
Argentine whale sanctuary sees record die-off
An unusual die-off at Península Valdés in Argentine Patagonia may be the worst on record for southern right whales. Unofficial counts since July suggest more than 300 whales, both adults and calves, have perished in what is South America’s largest sanctuary for the species.
The toll far surpasses previous highs recorded by the Whale Conservation Institute, which logged a peak of 113 calf deaths in 2012 and 28 adult deaths in 2022. A team led by a veterinarian from the University of California, Davis, is now conducting necropsies and testing water and shellfish samples to determine a cause.
The deaths are a sharp reversal for a population that had been a conservation success story, growing from around 500 individuals in the late 1990s to a peak of 2,110 in 2025.
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- An unusual die-off of southern right whales in Argentine Patagonia alarms scientists
- Scientists alarmed by dozens of whale deaths along Argentina’s coast
- Argentina’s first deep-sea whale fall is now feeding sharks and crabs 2.4 miles down
- Whale Protection Battle Hits Hobart: Sanctuary Push
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