BP Oil Still Killing

Update:The body count of newborn and still born bottle nose dolphins is now up to 36. Another 7 unconfirmed deaths were reported yesterday. The Institute of Marine Mammal Studies in Gulfport Mississippi is conducting necropsies to determine the cause of death. So far, tissue examinations have been inconclusive, but a mortality event of this magnitude, ten times the normal death rate, indicates something is terribly wrong in the Gulf. The only new event between last year's calving season and the current one is the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that is 20 times larger than the Exxon Valdez spill.By the end of 2010, 7,000 dead animals have been collected in the Gulf including 600 endangered sea turtles. Bottle nose dolphins are also a protected species under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.  The 1972 Act provides for criminal penalties for the unlawful taking of marine mammals.

{21.2.11}The aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the largest in US history, continues to take a devastating toll on wildlife regardless of corporate and government lies that the spilled oil has largely dissipated. The latest casualty to be found by humans is perhaps the most tragic so far: the bodies of infant dolphins, some less than three feet long, are washing ashore in Alabama and Mississippi at ten times the normal rate of stillborn and infant deaths. The Biloxi, Mississippi Sun-Herald  reported that 17 young dolphins have been found dead so far. [photo]  The Institute of Marine Mammal Studies is performing necropsies on two infants. Almost certainly the calves died of the toxic effects of spilled crude oil and dispersant chemicals since this is the first calving season since the disaster. The average is one or two infant deaths per month. A researcher warned against jumping to conclusions, but she admitted, "this is more than just coincidence".