About a half dozen bottlenose dolphins died in a mass stranding early Monday morning on Cape Cod in what animal rescue officials say is the largest known stranding of the animals off Massachusetts.<\/p>\n
The International Fund for Animal Welfare said their marine mammal rescue experts responded to reports of a mass stranding of 28-30 bottlenose dolphins at First Encounter Beach in Eastham around 5:30 a.m. Monday.<\/p>\n
The dolphins refloated with the incoming tide, they said, but about 5-6 of them died before their team arrived. IFAW’s ream remains in the area to monitor and herd the animals away from shore before the next low tide at 5:13 p.m.<\/p>\n
Bottlenose dolphins are typically an offshore species, IFAW said, but they have seen a growing trend of the animals closer to Cape Cod’s shores in recent years. They said this is now the largest known stranding of bottlenose dolphins off Massachusetts.<\/p>\n
Members of the public who observe a stranded dolphin are urged not to push or drage them back into the water. They should instead keep a safe distance and contact trained rescue experts through the IFAW Stranding Hotline.<\/a><\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t37-year-old Allie is due to give birth to the Brookfield Zoo Chicago\u2019s first bottlenose calf in a decade.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n