60 dolphins die in Mozambique beaching
Pastor Dale Morgan
Tuesday October 31, 1:52 AM Reuters
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60 dolphins die in Mozambique beaching*
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Dozens of bottle-nosed dolphins have died after
beaching themselves on a remote Mozambique coastline, mystifying
environmentalists who say mass beachings are very rare in the area.
"It's very unusual but even when one or two are beached you very rarely
find the cause of death," Peter Best of the mammal research institute at
the University of Pretoria said on Monday.
Witnesses said around 60 dolphins came onshore on Bazaruto Island off
mainland Mozambique early on Saturday. Rescuers managed to return six of
them to the water.
Scientists do not know why large groups of dolphins or whales
occasionally beach themselves in different parts of the world.
Nick Raba, a member of Eyes on the Horizon, a group of citizens who help
police fishery laws in the area, was one of the first people to arrive
at the scene.
"There wasn't a marking on them, no signs of disease, and not fishing
nets wrapped around them. Something very strange has gone wrong," he
said. "This is quite a shock."
About 21 whales and dolphins have been reported to have beached
themselves this year in South Africa.