(Reuters) -A pod of eight dolphins died after being stranded on a New Jersey beach, and their bodies were taken to a state lab for necropsies that could help explain why they washed ashore, according to a marine animal rescue group.
The incident was reported on Tuesday by the Marine Mammal Stranding Center, a nonprofit group based in Brigantine, New Jersey, that rescues and rehabilitates beached dolphins, whales and related species.
The aquatic animals, known as Common dolphins, beached themselves in Sea Isle City, about 30 miles (50 km) south of Atlantic City, but it was unclear why, the center said. All eight were taken to the laboratory for necropsies.
Moby Solangi, director of the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Gulfport, Mississippi, said it was likely the animals were very sick, but the specific reason might not be known until an examination was performed.
When dolphins or other marine mammals become severely ill, they drift in close to shore where they have difficulty breathing, making drowning likely.
“In this case, why it happened, an examination will tell, but dolphins’ health is an indicator of the oceans’ health, and we humans have been using the ocean as a garbage dump,” he said.
The deaths come about a week after the center reported that two other dolphins died after washing ashore on a sandbar in Sandy Hook Bay, New Jersey, about 50 miles (80 km) south of New York City. The animals are not considered endangered.
The center said on Facebook that two of the creatures beached in Sea Isle City were dead when they were found, and the other six were euthanized. Returning them to the ocean would only have prolonged their suffering, a veterinarian with the center determined.
A spokesperson for the nonprofit was unavailable for comment on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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