© Liz Tasa/El Comercio



Specimens of several different species, including sea turtles and dolphins, have been found near Sechura, in Piura.A mysterious and morbid phenomenon has overtaken a beach near Sechura, in the Peruvian region of Piura. A substantial number of semi-decomposed sea animals have washed up along the coast, and no one knows why or what killed them.According to RPP Noticias, 22 dolphins, 17 sea lions, and 23 sea turtles have been found along a stretch of 20 kilometers.RPP reports that specialists are awaiting results from tests performed on tissue samples collected from the deceased specimens. The samples were sent to the laboratories of the Ocean Institute of Peru (Imarpe) in Lambayeque for research and investigation.Silvia Rumiche, environmental specialist in Piura, told RPP that the animals' "state of decomposition [indicates] that these species have been dead for two weeks. However, other remains in a skeletal state have been verified as well, and according to the biologists, this prevents them from being able to take samples in order to determine the causes of death."RPP reports that no solid hypotheses about the animals' causes of death can be formed until laboratory results from tissue samples are available. At this time, it is not believed that the animals were killed by humans.