Environment 5-28

Necropsies of four dead dolphins discovered last week on Santa Rosa Island have yielded inconclusive results. Channel Islands Marine Sanctuary officials responded on 5/22 to reports of five dead Northern right whale dolphins having washed up on the shores of Santa Rosa. Able to recover four of the dead mammals, scientists performed one necropsy on scene while conducting the other three at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. Without a clear-cut cause of death, officials have sent tissue and blood samples for further testing. Results are expected to take several months.