On the beach, experts from and scientists from the aquarium and volunteers from the Cape Cod Stranding Network kept watch into the beginning of this week, but said that as of Sunday there were no new strandings.
Such strandings are not uncommon on Cape Cod, but the cause of such strandings, remains a mystery to scientists from all over the world. One theory is that the new moon, coupled with unusually high tides, could have contributed to the behavior. Another theory suggests that the dolphins become confused by the Cape's unusual geography and cannot find their way back to the open ocean. Once beached, deep-water animals such as whales and dolphins do not usually survive. Out of water, their skin dries up and they find it increasingly difficult to breathe until they suffocate to death.
For whale lovers of all ages, the scene this week off the coast of Cape Cod was a grim one. Scientists performed animal autopsies right on the beach. Experts said they were conducting these examinations to pinpoint the exact cause of death of the most recent strandings - and to learn more about the Atlantic Whitesided dolphin species.
On Saturday, groups of volunteers stroked and held the animals while the veterinarians administered injections to euthanize them. Sunday's tasks were just as grim, as the dead animals were studied at an Audubon Society site in Wellfleet, Mass., and arrangements were made to dispose of them.
Cape Codders are no strangers to such scenes. Mass dolphin strandings in Massachusetts have become almost an annual event. Last year, 97 dolphins died from late January to late February after they were stranded on the Cape. Whales also have been known to beach themselves on the area's shores.
Since the 1980's, there have been major die-offs of various dolphin species along the Atlantic coast of the United States, the Gulf of Mexico and the Mediterranean Sea. In most cases, scientists have been at a loss to determine the causes.
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