[Mike]

Hi All,
Thought you all would like to follow-up on the mammal die-off in S.
Florida. The tinking some months back was a neurotoxin as the cause,
and then a Big Gag order got put in place, naturally.
Bridget

Seven stranded dolphins die in Keys; dozens being treated
MARATHON, Fla. — Seven dolphins stranded off the Florida Keys have
died and dozens were being treated for dehydration Thursday as
veterinarians tried to determine why they came to shore.

More than 60 rough-tooth dolphins were found on flats and sandbars
and in a nearby canal Wednesday about a quarter mile off Marathon,
officials said.

By Thursday, most of the dolphins had been moved from just a few
inches of water on the flats to the 15-foot-deep, mangrove-lined
canal, said Denise Jackson, a member of the Marine Mammal Rescue
Team.

“Some are free swimming and frolicking and having a good time,” she
said.

Boats brought most of the dolphins to the canal, though one hitched
a ride on a stretcher in back of a pickup truck, Jackson said.
Veterinarians were conducting blood tests and other medical
assessments on the dolphins.

“We’re looking to see if they’ve got any sickness going through
them,” Jackson said. “We’re looking at their levels of dehydration,
which will tell us how much they have been eating, if they have been
eating.”

Marine mammals may strand when they are sick, injured or
disoriented, said Laura Engleby, a biologist with the National
Marine Fisheries Service.

Rough-tooth dolphins normally inhabit deep, offshore waters in the
Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, she said.

“They’re not a coastal species,” Engleby said.
Marathon is on Key Vaca, in the middle of the Florida Keys about 45
miles east of Key West. The dolphins were stranded on the ocean side
of the island.

Marine officials said that on Friday, teams would begin moving some
of the sick dolphins to care facilities along the Keys or on the
mainland.
___
March 3, 2005 – 7:58 p.m. MST