The Rockaways got a sad surprise Sunday when a dead dolphin calf was found on a Jamaica Bay beach.
According to published reports, the cause of death is unknown, but the common dolphin appeared malnourished.
It’s unclear if the dolphin was stranded on the beach or dead before it washed ashore.
It was found by staff on they beach at Fort Tilden park. Authorities from the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation retrieved the carcass on Monday.
The dolphin was the same species of the nearly 180 dolphins that have been stranded in Cape Cod, Mass. since the beginning of January. The majority of those dolphins have died.
The number is well above the seasonal average, but the cause remains a mystery.
