Two dead dolphins have been found on the coast of Changhua County in central Taiwan in two days, local Coast Guard Administration officials said yesterday.
The administration’s Central Coastal Patrol Office said its staff found one dolphin on Friday near the Changhua Coastal Industrial Park Service Center in Lukang Township (鹿港).
The dead mammal, identified as a pantropical spotted dolphin, measured 1.2m in length and weighed 35kg, the administration said.
The body of the other dolphin, also a pantropical spotted dolphin, was found a day earlier along the coast of Shengang Township (伸港). It was 2m long and weighed 110kg.
The dolphins were discovered less than two weeks after two dead bottlenose dolphins were found on the Changhua coast, on March 18 and 19 respectively.
Coast guard officials said they have never found so many dead dolphins in such a short period of time.
Conservationists said there are many reasons why dead dolphins might be found on the coast; they could have lost their way chasing fish; they could have been sick or old; or they could have been hurt after being accidentally caught by fishermen, becoming exhausted and drifted to shore after being released back into the ocean.
The Taiwan Cetacean Society said further inspection is needed to determine the cause of death of the latest casualties.
The dead dolphins were sent to National Taiwan University in Taipei and National Cheng Kung University in Tainan for further examination.
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