Scores of Dolphins Washing Up Dead and Nobody Knows Why.

[N2NH]

Something is killing dolphins in much higher than average numbers (and what is average used to be higher than average). Over 120 have washed up dead in New York (State) alone since the beginning of summer and summer is barely half over.


Over 120 dolphin corpses have washed on shore so far this summer—seven times the normal amount. Experts say that the number of dead bottlenose dolphins is "very alarming." The strandlings have appeared on shore between New York and Virginia starting in July and increasing over the past two weeks. In Virginia, 64 animals have been found.

One of the dolphins tested positive for morbillivirus, which is an airborne virus similar to the measles. Morbillivirus is usually fatal for dolphins, causing an epidemic among the dolphin population on the East Coast in 1987 and 1988. There is no confirmation that another morbillivirus epidemic has started, and scientists are testing for other viruses and diseases as well.

A marine mammal biologist for NOAA, Trevor Spradlin, said that these dolphin deaths could be a warning sign of major problems within the ocean. He told The National Geographic, "Marine mammals are like the canary in the coal mine."

Experts also report that dolphins might be susceptible to disease because of the toxicity they encounter on a daily basis. An expert studying bottlenose dolphins reports that they can have toxic mercury levels at 20 times the amount permitted in human food. The scientist, Gregory Bossart, says exposure to toxins gives these dolphins a "profoundly" suppressed immune system. The Gulf of Mexico has had a long-running case of dolphins dying, with over 1000 dolphins and whales washing onto their shores since February 2010.ViA Gawker

I guess someone figured out that nobody notices what goes into the ocean...

Scores of Dolphins Are Dying and No One Knows Why (http://gawker.com/scores-of-dolphins-are-dying-and-no-one-knows-why-1077017491?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+gawker%2Ffull+%28Gawker%29)

[N2NH]

Someone spotted a shark riding on the N Train from Coney Island. People notice what comes OUT of the ocean though...


Early this morning a small, dead shark was spotted on the Queens-bound N train. [Please point out in the comments how it's currently Shark Week it'll be just hilarious.] Tipster Mary M. sent us some photos, noting that the shark was there when she got on at 34th Street just after midnight.

"I board a car that's not terribly full and as soon as I enter, a stench hits my nose. It's not the typical urine/trash smell, it's...fishy? I look down to the end of the car to see a dead shark on the floor. I think I stood there for a good minute just staring, thinking 'Is this for real?! Oh come ON, NYC!' One of my fellow passengers remarked 'I've been riding the subway for 15 years, and this is the weirdest thing I've seen. And I've seen EVERYTHING.' The train filled as we made our way to Astoria, every new passenger was getting excited about it. Once we got to Queensboro Plaza, an MTA employee made all of us move to another car."

Mary did not see who dumped the shark there, but surely someone saw something? Email us if you witnessed this scenario play out. In the past we've seen people selling baby sand sharks right out of buckets on the subway, and this looks to be a similar shark.

We've reached out to the MTA to see how they go about discarding something like this, and a spokesman cracked wise (and inaccurately described a shark as a "mammal"):

"Live sharks are wrangled by Shark Maintainer IIs, who have passed the qualification test and have minimum three years in the Shark Maintainer I title. Dead ones are handled by Shark Maintainer Is, or if none are available on that shift, then by Aquatic Mammal Handler IIs."

Check back later today for our exclusive interview with the MTA's Chief Aquatic Mammal Handler II.

UPDATE: The MTA confirms the shark was real, and tells us, "The conductor on this N train reported the shark to the control center at 12:34 am. The conductor moved everyone out of the car at Queensboro Plaza, and when the train arrived at the end of the line at Ditmars Boulevard, a Train Service Supervisor placed the dead shark in a garbage bag and disposed of it in the trash. The Road Car Inspector at Ditmars made sure the car was clean and returned it to normal service."

UPDATE II: This guy gave the shark a cigarette and MetroCard.
ViA Gothamist

Shark! On a M-Fing Train!

Kids playing with a dead shark. (http://gothamist.com/2013/08/08/sources_dead_shark_on_subway_came_fr.php#photo-1)


Photos: Shark On The Subway (http://gothamist.com/2013/08/07/photos_dead_shark_on_subway.php#photo-1)

http://i41.tinypic.com/2w5lp8k.jpg

http://i44.tinypic.com/2mr624j.jpg

[W4GPL]

Ok, environmental disaster aside.. the metorcard, cigarette, and RedBull is friggin' hilarious.

[KG4NEL]

Hipster shark.

He was around before Shark Week was cool.

[kb2vxa]

Just because you don't see it don't say it doesn't exist.

[N2NH]

Two things about the "Hipster Shark" :rofl:

1) It was done in Brooklyn. One of the reasons I always liked Brooklyn is that nearly everyone is wacky.

2) The shark wasn't noticed in Brooklyn. A shark on a train? Just another day in Brooklyn. It began to get noticed in Manhattan. By the time it gets to Queens, people are not only noticing it but are scared. Of a dead shark. So it gets removed. On the beach in Brooklyn, kids are playing and posing with it. That's how much difference there is between the boroughs.

[KG4NEL]

I liked the "typical urine/trash smell" part too :D

[KG4NEL]

Just because you don't see it don't say it doesn't exist.

The Gulf Is Fine (tm)

- BP

[WØTKX]

A form of Measles / Distemper is suspected... (http://blog.al.com/live/2011/03/dead_dolphins_measles_related.html)


...a review of the scientific literature associated with similar mass die-offs of marine mammals around the world suggests a common culprit:

Morbillivirus.

In the same family as the viruses that cause measles in humans and canine distemper in dogs, there are well-documented outbreaks of fatal morbillivirus infections in dolphins, whales and seals around the world since the 1980s.
Jerry Saliki, a University of Georgia researcher and veterinarian who has published a number of scientific papers on morbillivirus infections in dolphins, said the virus could be responsible for the current mass die off.


“It is certainly possible. In the past, there have been significant die offs in the Gulf with dolphins that were attributed to morbillivirus,” Saliki said Monday. “But, there are so many possible causes of mass mortality. Unless a laboratory test confirms, you cannot pin it to morbillivirus.”

[W4GPL]

I think this may be a good thing... we're avoiding the otherwise inevitable.

10375

[n2ize]

Now if only Mike Nelson were still around. He'd head out to the ocean on the Argonaut, put on his diving gear and find out exactly what the trouble is. And all within a half hour with commercial breaks. :

[NQ6U]

Now if only Mike Nelson were still around. He'd head out to the ocean on the Argonaut, put on his diving gear and find out exactly what the trouble is. And all within a half hour with commercial breaks. :

They don't make men like Mike Nelson any more, alas.

[n2ize]

They don't make men like Mike Nelson any more, alas.

No they don't. "Sea Hunt" (starring Lloyd Bridges as Mike Nelson...professional diver and ex Navy frogman) inspired my interest in SCUBA diving. So much so that I took up snorkeling on my own and in my 20's I took a few SCUBA lessons, to the point of wearing tanks and going down in very shallow water. Unfortunately I didn't continue with it. I still have a pair of tanks buried somewhere in the garage. I still enjoy watching Sea Hunt via YouTube now and then. Some of the episodes are a bit corny (after all it was the 1950's) but I still enjoy them. It was way ahead of it's time. As a youngster I considered Mike Nelson to be the greatest guy in the world. A true childhood hero.

P.S. He also had some awesome looking women as diving partners on a few episodes. After all, what woman wouldn't want to go diving with an awesome guy like Mike. ;)

[kb2vxa]

From SCUBA diving to picking a bad day to stop sniffing glue.................

[n2ize]

From SCUBA diving to picking a bad day to stop sniffing glue.................

Hah.... Well, maybe all that underwater breathing made him an expert glue sniffer,

[NA4BH]

It's all fun and games until someone glues their eyes shut.

[kb2vxa]

It's all fun and games until someone glues their eyes shut... permanently. It was supposed to be funny but the serious side is tragic, huffing is perhaps second only to a bullet when it comes to killing brain cells.

[n2ize]

It's all fun and games until someone glues their eyes shut... permanently. It was supposed to be funny but the serious side is tragic, huffing is perhaps second only to a bullet when it comes to killing brain cells.

Well, you are saturating your lungs with an industrial chemical. Not good and really not funny.

[N2NH]

did someone say Mike Nelson?


http://youtu.be/ZEHV-R-y840