Posted 3/21/2007 10:47:00 PM by Douglas

Can't we somehow blame this on canned tuna or six-pack rings?

An unusually high number of dead dolphins washed ashore in Galveston and Jefferson counties led federal officials Tuesday to issue a rare declaration, calling the deaths an "unusual mortality event."

At least 60 beached dolphin corpses were discovered in the two counties this month compared with nine during the same month last year, said Blair Mase, marine mammal stranding coordinator for the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, which has launched a special investigation into the matter.

About 180 dolphins are beached during the stranding season all along the Texas coast during a normal year, but this year nearly all the strandings have been limited to Galveston and Jefferson counties.

Scientists so far have no explanation for the high numbers turning up in only two counties.

"We really don't have a prime suspect," Watts said.

Most of the bodies were partially decomposed, leading scientists to believe that the dolphins were dying at sea off the Louisiana coast.

Ok, that's kinda creepy. Maybe they all decided to drink the Kool-aid?