Dolphin "Mass Suicide": Is Sonar to Blame?

Posted by Alex in Animal, Weapons & War on June 16, 2008 at 1:12 am


Early last week, a pod of 26 dolphins beached themselves in Cornwall, England … and experts are suggesting that they’ve committed "mass suicide":

The dolphins that died after beaching in Cornwall had ingested debris and mud, leading one of the scientists who examined them to compare
their deaths to "mass suicide".

Vic Simpson, a pathologist who examined some of the 26 dead mammals, said today: "On the face of it, it looks like some sort of mass suicide – but the question is why? The dolphins had swallowed and inhaled big chunks of mud from the estuary. Their lungs and stomachs were full of it. That is very bizarre indeed."

Theories range from the dolphins being frightened by a killer whale to sonar use by the Navy: Guardian Article (Photo: Barry Batchelor/PA Wire), Telegraph article (dolphins "were scared ashore")

Mass beaching of dolphins aren’t new: last year, 152 dolphins washed up in Iran – there, the authorities blamed the deaths on fishing practice.


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COMMENT

15 comments to "Dolphin "Mass Suicide": Is Sonar to Blame?"

  1. lucky
    June 16th, 2008 at 3:33 am

    okay...i have to say it...

    "so long and thanks for all the fish"

  2. Yetsune
    June 16th, 2008 at 3:33 am

    So long, and thanks for all the fish.

  3. prophet
    June 16th, 2008 at 7:43 am

    Suicide? -.-

    Maybe they were emo-dolphins, who knows.

  4. stiggy
    June 16th, 2008 at 8:01 am

    I guess it wouldn't have been easier to spike the punch with Cyanide.

  5. Jake D.
    June 16th, 2008 at 9:21 am

    I'm sure each one is enjoying 72 virgin dolphins in Heaven.

  6. kid_icarus
    June 16th, 2008 at 11:35 am

    were they wearing reebok or nike shoes?

  7. bruce8505
    June 16th, 2008 at 12:06 pm

    I'm so sick of these wacko dolphin cult leaders!

  8. Thomas
    June 16th, 2008 at 12:19 pm

    I knew I shouldn't hold out hope of, "so long and thanks for all the fish" not being said immediately.

  9. Neatoramawontsendmeapassword
    June 16th, 2008 at 1:55 pm

    If a bunch of dumbass humans were polluting your home, overfishing your food supply, and blasting your sensitive ears with sonar, wouldn't you want out, too?

  10. emanuel lewis
    June 16th, 2008 at 2:06 pm

    or maybe they were just retarded. not being poisoned but eating mud...clearly their sonar was effected. either way they are not endangered get over it.

  11. Jill
    June 16th, 2008 at 3:00 pm

    Sounds like the plot for the Happening Part II.

  12. Dave
    June 16th, 2008 at 3:42 pm

    Yeah; somehow it's just got to be our fault. Probably George W. Bush's fault.

    /snarky comment

  13. Ali S.
    June 16th, 2008 at 5:35 pm

    Reminds me a bit of that Simpson's episode when the Dolphins take over the land. I guess this was a failed party of scouts.

    Ok, now I feel bad for playing on the deaths of Dolphins. :(

  14. Brian
    July 30th, 2008 at 6:44 pm

    Suicidal fish? Well not actually cause aren't they mammals or something?

    Hey maybe this is the beginning of the end of days
    I know we are already in the "end times" but maybe it's closer than we think. Maybe they know something we don't, or I guess it could be because we are virtually wiping out every species on this planet except for man. But maybe that's not entirely man's fault. Didn't GOD say to man multiply and be fruitfull. Maybe we are a bit too fruitfull. Haha.

  15. george
    August 15th, 2008 at 1:40 pm

    Perhaps it as a result of this technology,
    whether purposefully or by accident:
    http://www.spunk.org/library/altern/pub/keith/sp000435.txt

    Excerpt:
    Byrd also wrote of experiments where behavior of animals was controlled by exposure to weak electromagnetic fields. "At a certain frequency and power intensity, they could make the animal purr, lay down and
    roll over."


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