Mysterious dolphin beachings persist on Cape Cod

WELLFLEET, Mass. - There's no good spot on Cape Cod for dolphins to continue this winter's massive and unexplained beachings, but a group of 11 has chosen one of the worst.

The remote inlet down Wellfleet's Herring River is a place where the tides recede fast and far, and that's left the animals mired in a grayish-brown mud one local calls "Wellfleet mayonnaise."

Walking is the only way to reach the animals, but it's not easy. Rescuers crunch through cord grass and seashells before hitting a grabby muck that releases a footstep only after a sucking pop. One volunteer hits a thigh-deep "hole" and tumbles forward. The mud covers his face like messy war paint the rest of the morning.

Rescuers make a quick assessment once they reach the animals.

One dolphin is dead, but the other 10 appear healthy, and some bang their tails in the shallows, struggling to move. Rescuers decide the best course is to wait for the incoming tide to free the dolphins, then boats can try to herd them out of trouble. The only other alternative is hauling them to a waiting trailer, and open water. But the trailer is nearly a mile away.

Waiting has risks. Dolphins can't survive long on land and there's no guarantee the boats can push the dolphins on to safety.

"Now's where we start crossing our fingers," said Brian Sharpe of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, as he heads for a boat.

A year ago, Tuesday's 11 stranded dolphins would have seemed remarkable. Now, they just add to a growing tally.

In the last month, 177 short-beaked common dolphins have stranded on Cape Cod, and 124 have died. The total is nearly five times the average of 37 common dolphins that have stranded annually during the last 12 years.

So far, there's no explanation.

CBS News correspondent Jim Axelrod reported last month that there are a few theories about what's behind the strandings. Dolphins are social animals and could be following a disoriented leader. Their food supply may be too close to shore. It may even have something to do with the unusually mild winter.

(At left, watch a report Axelrod filed for "CBS This Morning")

Workers at the IFAW, which has led the rescue efforts, tag and take blood samples of the stranded animals, necropsies have been done on dead dolphins and a Congressional briefing was held early this month in the push for answers. But researchers can offer only theories about things such as changes in weather, water temperature or behavior of the dolphins' prey.

Geography may also play a role, if the dolphins are getting lost along the Cape's jagged inner coastline, in towns like Wellfleet.

In mid-February, Wellfleet feels like a place long emptied out after a dimly-remembered party. A closed mini-golf course, candy store and drive-in theater are among the dormant summer businesses seen on a drive into town. A downtown road rolls past shuttered cottages and motel cabins.

But Wellfleet is a hot spot for the dolphin strandings, in part because of features such as Jeremy Point, a thin peninsula that blocks the way to Cape Cod Bay if the dolphins wander too far into the town's harbor. The IFAW boat is charged with pushing the animals past the point Tuesday, once they're freed.

Meanwhile, rescuers in orange vests and black waders work in pairs to move the dolphins on slings, bringing them closer together and pointed the right way.

"We'll take advantage of the fact that they're social animals," said Kerry Branon, an IFAW spokeswoman. "We're hoping if we release them together, they'll stick together and then we'll herd them out around the point."

Not all the dolphins are on board, though. One drifts off to the left, where he could beach again. The manager of the stranding team, Katie Moore, slides over, grabs its dorsal fin, and gives it a push in the right direction.

"You're going the wrong way, buddy," she says.

The inlet continues to fill and the dolphins break into waters that are deeper than the rescuers can follow, but they're in two groups. The IFAW's boat eventually follows one pod and the Wellfleet harbormaster takes another. The noise from the motors pushes the dolphins ahead. So do acoustic pingers, devices that make a sound that annoys the dolphins.

From here, all the shore workers can do is await word from the boats, which will follow the dolphins until dark, if needed. The crew trudges off the beach and gathers later in a parking lot at the Wellfleet marina, where coffee and two boxes of doughnut holes will be served.

Volunteer Mike Giblin, muck still on his face, sits in his truck and explains why, at 64, he can't wait to get an early-morning call to help the dolphins. The animals are special, says the retired high school teacher. He adds that the dolphins somehow know the workers are there to help. He's certain.

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[thyatt416]

What if whales and dolphins truly do have a superior intellect, as many believe, and can speak to the human race? What would their message be? In November 2008, gifted clairvoyant Patricia Cori was in Jordan teaching a workshop when a life-changing event occurred. A community of Cetaceans-"a choir of whales and dolphins," as she describes it-interrupted her talk with a frantic plea for help. Cori was suddenly witness to a devastating scene of suffering, a communal grieving of scores of whales and dolphins "frenzied, lost, and dying." This was the first of several terrifying calls for help, all of which were immediately followed by mass suicide events as these majestic creatures collectively chose to leave us and our planet.
From: Before We Leave You: Messages From The Great Whales And The Dolphin Beings - by Patricia Cori

[joesapper]

its a putin sub off the coast and the sonar is driving the dolphins out of the water, i may be joking but you can bet it has been checked out.