Eight dolphins strand themselves in Boston Harbor
QUINCY, Mass. --Eight dolphins were discovered early Sunday on a beach in Quincy in what scientists are calling a rare mass stranding in Boston Harbor.
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Passers-by discovered the dolphins at about 7 a.m. on Wollaston Beach. They were able to help two of the eight back into the water. The other six were dead.
"They had probably been high and dry since the low tide overnight," said Tony LaCasse, a spokesman for the New England Aquarium. "The best guess is that these guys were pretty disoriented."
LaCasse said no one at the aquarium could remember a similar mass stranding of dolphins in Boston Harbor, although dolphin strandings have become more common on Cape Cod, especially in winter when the dolphins may be in search of food in marshy areas.
Four of the dead dolphins were taken to the aquarium to try to determine why they may have become stranded in Boston Harbor. Two were taken to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Falmouth.
LaCasse said that while it’s understandable why people would want to help the living dolphins back into the water, it’s probably not a good idea because they could easily become stranded again. It’s better to call police and have a dolphin rescue team evaluate the health of the dolphins and release them in deeper waters.
LaCasse said the aquarium had just moved some of its rescue staff to the outer tip of Long Island in New York to help with rescues there.
The stranding is the latest and most dramatic incident in a string of recent dolphin strandings in Massachusetts.
Two more dolphins found dead on Cape Cod beaches
By Associated Press
Thursday, January 4, 2007 – Updated: 09:31 AM EST
RLEANS – Two more dolphins have been found dead on Cape Cod beaches, bringing the total number of strandings in the past week to 17.
Of the 17 stranded, eight have either been found dead or have had to be euthanized.
Rescuers are worried about a repeat of last year.
"It’s very reminiscent of last January where we had 100 (dolphins strand) in the first week of 2006," said Sarah Herzig, the stranding coordinator for the Cape Cod Stranding Network.
The dead dolphins found Wednesday were in Orleans and Brewster. A dead dolphin was found Tuesday night in Orleans. All were common dolphins, the same species that has been stranding on Cape Cod beaches since last Friday.
The Cape’s hook shape, combined with a labyrinth of sandbars and marshes, can confuse and trap animals, especially if they are sick. The recent full moon may have exacerbated the problem because it allows dolphins to chase prey deeper into the flooded marshes, marine biologists say.
The these guys need our attention, since our prescious Navy is most likely responsible for forcing them out of the water .