Why Did More Than 80 Dolphins Die in the Everglades?

[csziggy]

Why Did More Than 80 Dolphins Die in the Everglades?
Tuesday, January 17, 2017 at 8:56 a.m.

Dozens of dolphins died in the Everglades yesterday after mysteriously stranding themselves.

The herd of false killer whales, a kind of endangered, oversize dolphin, wormed its way into the narrow channels of Everglades National Park sometime over the weekend. The massive creatures, which can grow to 20 feet and 1,500 pounds, were soon trapped in the silty water, thick with mangrove roots. Scientists scrambled to help the stranded animals, but by yesterday, 81 of them were dead.

The die-off was the worst of its kind in Florida history for the mammals. And scientists say, for now, they have no idea why the animals all but committed mass suicide.

"Response teams continue to work trying to assess the scene after 95 false killer whales stranded along Hog Key in the Florida Everglades," according to NOAA Fisheries Service, which has coordinated the response. "The remote location makes it challenging for biologists to get to the scene."

False killer whales, as the name implies, are a close cousin to the more famous — and far better studied — orca. They're the fourth largest kind of dolphin, and they've been spotted in warm waters around the world.
http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/why-did-more-than-80-dolphins-die-in-the-everglades-9069874

[yagotme]

1. Wow. That's really sad.

[KT2000]

2. likely military sonar testing

and other acoustic exercises in the sea. This has happened before. They are tortured by these exercises - they experience great pain and become disoriented. They are committing suicide. They military knows this but it is always treated as something mysterious and beyond our comprehension. Bullshit.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/does-military-sonar-kill/