Dolphin
A bottlenose dolphin believed to be one stuck in the Shrewsbury River over the summer was found dead off Sandy Hook, marine wildlife rescuers said.

The dolphin, believed to be a pregnant female, was first spotted Friday at noon floating in Sandy Hook Bay about a mile from the entrance to Sandy Hook, said Bob Schoelkopf, executive director of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine.

There was no outward sign of what may have caused the dolphin's death, but a necropsy is scheduled for Tuesday after the state laboratory handling those procedures reopens from the holiday break, Schoelkopf said.

A dead bottlenose dolphin was found off Sandy Hook on Friday.
© Marine Mammal Stranding CenterA dead bottlenose dolphin was found off Sandy Hook on Friday.

"We've been watching that animal for months and months," he said.

The dolphin had a very visible, very large healed shark bite near its dorsal fin, but the wound appeared to have occurred about a year or two ago, he said.

Schoelkopf said he and his staff would use that large scar to try to determine whether this dolphin is the same animal spotted all summer in the Shrewsbury River by analyzing photographs of the dolphin that attracted attention over the summer.

"We're hoping that these bites can give us more information," Schoelkopf said. "We're pretty sure it's the same animal."

He said this is about the 24th death of a dolphin or other mammal stuck in the Shrewsbury River over the past 20 years.

Dolphins that make their way around the tip of Sandy Hook get stuck in the bay and the connecting Shrewsbury River because their instincts tell them to swim south for winter, but there is no southern exit to the ocean from the river, Schoelkopf said.

And unless the animal is sick or in a bad way, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration instructs the Marine Mammal Stranding Center to leave the animals alone, he said.

"It's a natural fish trap," he said.

Most of the animals picked up in the past from the river have either died from starvation or had been so badly decomposed after surfacing in spring that the cause of death couldn't be determined, Schoelkopf said.

The dolphin is believed to be between 20 and 30 years old and because of its size is believed to be pregnant Schoelkopf said. Bottlenose dolphins, which can live up to 45 years old, are in their childbearing years between 15 and 35, he said.

Anyone with photographs of the dolphin in the river this summer - particularly ones that may show a shark bite - is asked to share them with the Marine Mammal Stranding Center, whose staff can be reached at 609-266-0538.