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11/06/2008
Navy Under Spotlight Over Dolphin Deaths
A pod of dolphins that died in Cornwall on Monday could have been "scared ashore".
Marine experts believe that the 26 dolphins that became stranded in creeks around the Percuil River could have been frightened by an underwater disturbance.
It is understood that the incident is one of the worst strandings in the UK.
Tony Woodley, spokesman for British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) said that "very few" of the dolphins had anything in their stomachs.
He said that this "added weight" to the theory that the pod was "scared ashore".
Alan Knight, Chairman of BDMLR said he had "never heard of anything like this" and that his conclusion was that "some sort of disturbance" caused the animals to panic.
The revelations have put the Royal Navy in the spotlight which is reported to have been carrying out exercises in Falmouth Bay with ships and a submarine.
A Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesman: "A survey vessel was conducting trials using a high-definition, short-range side-scan sonar for sea bed mapping approximately 12 nautical miles off the coast of Falmouth at the time of the incident."
However, he added that it was "extremely unlikely" that this would have affected the dolphins.
It is reported that two of the dead animals were pregnant and had to be put down.
Zoologists from the National Whale Stranding Scheme are currently working with vets to establish what caused the dolphins to swim inshore.
Post mortem tests on the dolphins are continuing but so far no reason has been given for the deaths, although tests on the mammals revealed that they were healthy.
Marine strandings occur for many reasons including disorientation, extreme weather conditions or injury.
In January, 2006, a rare northern bottlenose whale died after become beached in the River Thames in London.
See: Stranded Dolphins Die In Cornish River
(DS)
Marine experts believe that the 26 dolphins that became stranded in creeks around the Percuil River could have been frightened by an underwater disturbance.
It is understood that the incident is one of the worst strandings in the UK.
Tony Woodley, spokesman for British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) said that "very few" of the dolphins had anything in their stomachs.
He said that this "added weight" to the theory that the pod was "scared ashore".
Alan Knight, Chairman of BDMLR said he had "never heard of anything like this" and that his conclusion was that "some sort of disturbance" caused the animals to panic.
The revelations have put the Royal Navy in the spotlight which is reported to have been carrying out exercises in Falmouth Bay with ships and a submarine.
A Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesman: "A survey vessel was conducting trials using a high-definition, short-range side-scan sonar for sea bed mapping approximately 12 nautical miles off the coast of Falmouth at the time of the incident."
However, he added that it was "extremely unlikely" that this would have affected the dolphins.
It is reported that two of the dead animals were pregnant and had to be put down.
Zoologists from the National Whale Stranding Scheme are currently working with vets to establish what caused the dolphins to swim inshore.
Post mortem tests on the dolphins are continuing but so far no reason has been given for the deaths, although tests on the mammals revealed that they were healthy.
Marine strandings occur for many reasons including disorientation, extreme weather conditions or injury.
In January, 2006, a rare northern bottlenose whale died after become beached in the River Thames in London.
See: Stranded Dolphins Die In Cornish River
(DS)
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