42 Dead Dolphins Wash Ashore In Florida...10/08/99

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (AP) - Forty-two dead bottle-nosed dolphins have washed ashore since August, and the cause of their deaths is a mystery. A 500-pound male dolphin was found Wednesday and brought to the National Marine Fisheries office for analysis. "We don't know what's killing them," said Wanda Jones, a graduate student working with the agency. "We just know the dolphins are dying." Jones has sent tissue samples for analysis from the 12 most recently discovered animals. The tissue will be checked for red tide, among other things. Red tide is caused by tiny organisms that can release a toxin that kills fish by paralyzing their gills. While red tide hasn't been shown to kill dolphins, large numbers of dolphins have sometimes died in areas where a red tide bloom has been detected.

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