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A dead southern right whale calf has washed ashore on the coast of the Valdes Peninsula in Argentina's Chubut province, Anadolu Agency reported.
At least 29 southern right whale calves have been found dead in the Puerto Madryn area, according to the report. Scientists are conducting research to determine the cause of the deaths.
Chubut is a province in Argentine Patagonia, about 1,400 kilometers south of Buenos Aires. Puerto Madryn is a port city on its Atlantic coast and a major whale-watching destination, sitting next to the Valdes Peninsula, one of the main breeding grounds for southern right whales in the southwest Atlantic.
Calf deaths have been recorded along the Chubut coast since June, with dozens more washing up in the week of Sept. 22.
Marine mammal researcher Mariano Coscarella of Argentina's national science council CONICET told AFP that veterinarians suspect an outbreak of erysipelas, a bacterial disease that can turn systemic in whale calves.
Chubut provincial authorities said no evidence linking the deaths to human activity has been found so far. Coscarella said a natural cause appears most likely, though human influence cannot be completely ruled out.
Calf deaths occur every year, but the number recorded this season is unusually high, Coscarella said.
A record 2,110 whales, including about 800 calves, were counted in the area in 2025. This year's aerial survey counted 1,375 whales, including nearly 400 calves, a figure researchers say falls within expected natural fluctuations.
Coscarella said the deaths do not pose a medium-term danger to the population, given that southern right whales can live for around 60 years, according to local authorities.
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