Violent dolphin deaths a mystery for scientists

ALONG THE GULF COAST (AP) — Dolphins are washing ashore along the northern Gulf Coast with bullet wounds, missing jaws and hacked off fins and federal officials are looking into the mysterious deaths.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials said Monday that they are asking fish and wildlife agents and dolphin monitors in several states to be on the lookout for other troubling cases.

A marine mammal biologist for NOAA says two dolphins were found shot in Louisiana in 2011. This year, three dolphins were found shot — two in Mississippi and one in Louisiana.

On Friday, experts from the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Gulfport, Miss., said they found a dead dolphin with part of its jaw missing.

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Associated Press writer Janet McConnaughey contributed from New Orleans.

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