http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20081009_Second_dolphin_in_two_weeks_dies_in_N_J__s_Navesink_River.htmlAnother dolphin dies in N.J. river
It was the second in two weeks to die in the Navesink. It was likely from a pod living there.
By Wayne Parry
Associated Press
BRIGANTINE, N.J. - A dolphin was found dead yesterday afternoon in the Navesink River, the second to die there in two weeks.
Teri Frady, a spokeswoman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said the dolphin looked to be somewhat decomposed, indicating it had been dead for some time.
It appears the animal was part of a pod of dolphins that has been living since early June in the Navesink and Shrewsbury rivers in Monmouth County.
Animal-rescue experts and the federal agency have clashed over whether the dolphins should be removed from the river and brought back to sea.
"We need to agree on a plan to get these dolphins out of there," said Bob Schoelkopf, codirector of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine, who has pushed federal officials to intervene for several months. "It's a shame two animals had to die to get us to this point."
The latest dead dolphin was found across the river from where the first was found, at a marina in Fair Haven. Schoelkopf said he has no doubt that it was among the 15 that have been plying the rivers.
There were no obvious signs of trauma to the mammal, but decomposition had made it hard to tell what killed the animal.
The dolphin will be taken to a veterinary center in Pennsylvania this morning, where a necropsy will be performed.
The wildlife agency has said it would not move the dolphins unless they were in danger or becoming ill.
Volunteer rescuers are worried that waiting too long could invite an even worse replay of a scenario in 1993 that resulted in the deaths of four dolphins that lingered in the Shrewsbury River. Ice eventually closed in on them, and they drowned.
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