SAD

Dead Baby Dolphins Wash Ashore in Gulf

Likely unrelated to oil spill.

Since February 2010, some 406 baby bottlenose dolphins have been found either stranded ashore or dead offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, and scientists have no explanation for their mysterious deaths. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has called the inexplicable wave of deaths an "unusual mortality event.” The agency's marine mammal investigations coordinator says they are working to solve the dual mystery of why the dolphins are dying in such large numbers and at such a young age. Though some of the dolphins were found covered in oil, the fact that many of them began dying before BP's oil spill on April 20, 2010, reveals that the oil spill is likely not the main source of danger.