No answer for beached dolphins dying on Cape Cod

Waves of dolphins have been beaching themselves on Cape Cod since mid-January in numbers not seen in years. Almost 100 have died.

The dolphins began to wash ashore on January 12 and within five days, NBC News reported that 40 had perished, 32 of which were already dead when they landed on the bay side of the Cape Cod peninsula.

The number has grown to 129 mammals with only 37 survivors in the group. It is the largest number to have come ashore within the same time frame since 1999 and has reached the average number that beach themselves in an entire 12 month period.

When the phenomenon began last month Katie Moore, manager for marine mammal rescue at the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) advised that while the months of January through April are known for dolphin beachings, for some reason it is different in 2012.

Cape Cod is one of only a few places in the world where multiple whales and dolphins frequently beach themselves and yet the IFAW has not reached any conclusion about why this particular spot is among them.

"I've been doing this for 15 years and this is only the second season I've seen it like this, it's definitely out of the ordinary."

Founded in 1969, IFAW saves individual animals, animal populations and habitats all over the world. Its mission is to improve the welfare of wild and domestic animals throughout the world by reducing commercial exploitation of animals, protecting wildlife habitats, and assisting animals in distress.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which manages the rescue response has no more idea of why it is happening than the IFAW workers. No pattern has emerged in the string of events which makes it difficult to understand and more difficult to predict when it will all end.

Ms. Moore traveled to Washington, D.C. last week to both brief and seek help from House of Representatives' Natural Resources Sub-committee as a result of the unusual circumstances surrounding the number of mammals that have come ashore.

Scientists know that dolphins are what the IFAW call "social animals", which like humans depend on the safety and resources of their groups to survive. The organization responds to beachings by sending a team to the site as quickly as possible.

Once on the scene, health assessments are made of the mammals on the shore including behavioral observation, physical examinations and blood analysis. Support is given to all the animals to make them comfortable and to increase their survival rate.

For more information about the beachings and the work of IFAW in general, click over to the organization's website, here.

Image: Wikimedia Commons/Zest pk

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