Last week, a number of dead dolphins were reported by a lobster vessel on Hottentot Bay in Namibia. Upon arrival, the Lüderitz Marine Research team discovered a total of 86 dead dusky dolphins, including several juveniles and newborns.
The animals are estimated to have stranded a week before they were discovered on the remote beach. Thus, decomposition and scavenging by wild animals made it impossible to perform necropsies and determine what exactly led to their death. The research team assumes that “they might have become disoriented for some reason and accidentally beached themselves, or they may have rallied around a member of their group that got itself in trouble.” After several questions under their Facebook announcement, they clarified that there was no proven seismic or sonar activity in the area. Pollution was highly unlikely since there were no other dead animals like fish found in the area, and if the dolphins had become subject to bycatch, they would not have washed ashore at all or in such a close group.
The Lüderitz Marine Research announcement portrays their sadness that they “will never know what exactly happened to this group, and the heartbreaking images will be hard to forget”.
Their announcement can be found on their Facebook page
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