SENDAI (Japan), Aug 7 — All four Humboldt penguins that were being kept at a zoo in northeastern Japan and died one after the other last month were found to have died from avian malaria, results from an investigation showed Friday, Kyodo News reported.
The mosquito-borne illness is not contagious to humans. In some cases, the disease can progress rapidly from showing no symptoms to death.
Iwate University was commissioned by Yagiyama Zoological Park in Sendai to investigate the cause of the birds’ deaths.
Beginning with a male penguin named Aramasa, the four penguins died between July 9 and 19. None had shown any signs of illness until the day before their deaths.
According to the zoo, no concrete plans have been made to bring in new penguins for the time being.
The zoo aims to eventually resume the exhibit after implementing measures to prevent a recurrence, such as redesigning the enclosure to prevent the formation of puddles where mosquitoes breed.
Humboldt penguins are commonly found along the coasts of Peru and Chile in South America. They are considered better adapted to warmer climates than penguins from colder regions like Antarctica and are commonly kept in zoos throughout Japan.
