The Case of the Dead Dolphins

Unfortunately, this story about dolphins isn't as pleasant as the plot of a Douglas Adams book. Our clever water buddies just threw themselves on a sandy grave at Wollaston Beach.

Surely, scientists must have a more reasonable explanation than that the dolphins are in a kamikaze mood. The Patriot Ledger has a possible reason from a spokesman at the New England Aquarium: "The dolphins were likely to have been sick because they died quickly once ashore."

After the Massachusetts incident, more dolphins appeared in the Hamptons. The New York Daily News reports that "up to 20" dolphins are stuck in shallow water. They're confused, they're not eating, and the head of a marine research foundation determined that they looked "stressed."

There are plenty of "stressed" dolphins out there. In fact, seventeen dolphins stranded themselves on the beaches of Cape Cod, where 100 strandings happened during one week at the beginning of last year. The Herald explains: "The Cape’s hook shape, combined with a labyrinth of sandbars and marshes, can confuse and trap animals, especially if they are sick. The recent full moon may have exacerbated the problem because it allows dolphins to chase prey deeper into the flooded marshes, marine biologists say."

Oh, and that little thing called global warming might be an issue. In an interview with Reuters, Sarah Herzig of the Cape Cod Stranding Network (CCSN) speculated that "unseasonably warm water could have affected the migration of fish that they typically feed on."

The last – and most depressing – cause comes from the Cape Cod Stranding Network's FAQ. The CCSN explains that mass strandings occur because certain species are "highly social." In short, they're extreme conformists.