2 Dolphins Found Dead in Waters off Southern NJ

Flickr User Peter Harrison

It’s not yet known if the deaths of two dolphins found this weekend in waters off southern New Jersey are related.

Officials with the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine were notified Sunday afternoon about a common dolphin that was trapped between the rungs of a ladder underneath a dock in the Ocean City lagoon.

Center Director Bob Schoelkopf tells The Press of Atlantic City that it appears the dolphin got caught in the ladder and panicked. It was found around 4 p.m., roughly the same time another common dolphin was found on the beach in the Villas section of Lower Township.

It was not immediately clear what caused the death of either dolphin.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)