US Navy Sonar Possible Cause Of Mass Dolphin Death In E. Africa

[hatrack]

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The animals may have been disturbed by some unknown factor, or poisoned, before they became stranded in shallow waters and died, said Narriman Jiddawi, a marine biologist at the Institute of Marine Science of the University of Dar es Salaam. Experts planned to examine the dolphins' heads to assess whether they had been affected by military sonar.

Some scientists surmise that loud bursts of sonar, which can be heard for miles in the water, may disorient or scare marine mammals, causing them to surface too quickly and suffer the equivalent of what divers call the bends — when sudden decompression forms nitrogen bubbles in tissue.

A U.S. Navy task force patrols the coast of East Africa as part of counterterrorism operations. A Navy official was not immediately available for comment, but the service rarely speaks about the location of submarines at sea. The most conclusive link between the use of military sonar and injury to marine mammals was observed from the stranding of whales in 2000 in the Bahamas. The U.S. Navy later acknowledged that sonar likely contributed to the stranding of the extremely shy species.

And U.S. scientists on Thursday said Navy sonar may have caused a group of whales to strand themselves in Hawaii in 2004.

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http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12533135/

[babylonsister]

1. That was my very first thought when I heard about those dolphins.

So sad... The Navy needs to get a grip and realize what they're destroying.

[DanCa]

2. I figured as much

Damn Dubya doesn't he know that he's supposed to be a steward of the earth and everything in it?

[AndyA]

3. As a Christian, he should know this.

We're supposed to be kind to Mother Nature while we're here, and respect all that God has created. The Earth, Dolphins, black people, gays, the poor, the sick, everything.

Something tells me George is gonna have a lot of explaining to do when he meets his maker.

[DanCa]

4. When Dubya was hatched they broke the mold

Than they broke the mold maker :D Sorry I just had to get that out of my system.

[Dead_Parrot]

5. Unfortunatley...

...The Hebrew word used in Gen 1:26 (radah) doesn't translate too well as "have stewardship": It's also what you do to grapes to make wine. (i.e, crush underfoot).

The Bible is not a handbook on enviromental issues...