So what's up with Dophin Mutilations?

[presence]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/dolphins-shot-mutilated-stabbed-attacks-along-gulf-coast-a-mystery-for-experts/2012/11/19/787dfdb4-329b-11e2-92f0-496af208bf23_story.html



Since Feb. 2010, experts have tallied more than 700 recorded dolphin deaths.
Experts have also found increased “human interaction” cases
[]
Besides the shootings, a dolphin in Alabama was found with a screwdriver stuck in its head over the summer. Another in Alabama had its tail cut off

[FrankRep]

Poachers?

[tod evans]

Nuts..

Maiming to maim is pretty sick.

[fisharmor]

Dolphins are notorious rapists.
Which is good for them, because if they were, say, New York prostitutes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Island_serial_killer), nobody would give a shit about them being killed.

[youngbuck]

Some sick, demented psychopaths that get off on hurting animals? They'll probably graduate to humans.

[youngbuck]

Fougeres cautions that some of the dolphin mutilations might have happened after the animal died from natural causes and washed ashore. She said that in the case of the dolphin with the lower jaw missing, someone could have cut off the jaw for a souvenir after the animal died.


“We have to do a necropsy on the animal and collect tissue samples to try to determine whether or not the injury was pre-or post-mortem” she said.



Or it may not be anything too bizarre. :confused:

[donnay]

Military experiments gone awry?

http://www.angelfire.com/nj4/navydolphins/


The US Navy now has at least 130 dolphins and a number of other marine mammals at its main bases in Hawaii, San Diego and Key West. The dolphins are caught by one of the largest dolphin-catchers called Marine Mammal Productions Inc. (MAP) in Gulfport, Mississippi and then brought to Seaco Inc. in San Diego where they recieve basic training. From here they are dispatched to the naval bases for intensive training. Dolphin experts now say that Navy research is now focused on using the dolphins for their echolocation to detect long-range nuclear missiles, and there is a growing fear that the Russians, who have also exploited dolphins abilities for warfare purposes may use the animals to counter-attack the Americans. All this has led the US Navy to investigate devices which can jam the sonar of these "enemy dolphins" to protect its own interests. There are fears that the military deployment of dolphins will escalate and there is already evidence that the Navy has invested $1 million into expanding its marine mammal research program. Below a dolphin carrys a mine searching system that detects and marks the location of mines on the ocean bottom. Like the Navy, dolphins use sonar. Dolphins are also capable of making repeated deep dives without experiencing "the bends" or decompression sickness as do human divers. This capability would make dolphins valuable assistants to Navy divers working in the open ocean.

http://factsanddetails.com/world.php?itemid=1237&catid=53&subcatid=342

When Hurricane Katrina hit the southeast United States, a British newspaper reported that Navy killer dolphins had gotten loose in the Gulf of Mexico. In response to this and other similar assertions, the U.S. Navy website states: “The Navy does not now train, nor has it ever trained its marine mammals to harm or injure humans in any fashion or to carry weapons to destroy ships.”


http://www.hightech-edge.com/weirdest-military-experiments/9082/

Deadly Dolphins
It seems that using animals in your arsenal is an idea that just won’t die. In 1990 it was reported that a Russian military officer trained several dolphins to attack enemy ships, identifying them by the sounds of their propellers.

Later when he could no longer afford to keep them, he sold them to Iran. No word has been heard of the dolphins since.

[Zippyjuan]

Perhaps fishermen who feel the dolphins are interfering with their catches? (my thought before reading the whole article which also makes that suggestion):

Experts have also found increased “human interaction” cases, which include dolphins tangled in fishing lines — and the more violent incidents.




Some have suggested that the deaths are the work of a few angry fishermen who are upset about bait-stealing dolphins. Yet the majority of fishermen say that while dolphins can be annoying, they wouldn’t harm the creatures.

[presence]

Perhaps fishermen who feel the dolphins are interfering with their catches? (my thought before reading the whole article which also makes that suggestion):

I have trouble with that... I guess I tend to see fishermen in a more "pro-conservation/environment/diversity" kind of light. A friend suggested oil rig workers in the gulf being more the personality type.

[VBRonPaulFan]

I have trouble with that... I guess I tend to see fishermen in a more "pro-conservation/environment/diversity" kind of light. A friend suggested oil rig workers in the gulf being more the personality type.

yeah, probably not recreational anglers - possibly hardcore commercial fisherman pissed that they're getting caught in their long lines or nets. those guys are generally pretty tough and violent like oil rig workers.

[Zippyjuan]

It does point out that the injuries occured all over the place. There are probably many different reasons behind them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG6b3V2MNxQ

[coastie]

Perhaps fishermen who feel the dolphins are interfering with their catches? (my thought before reading the whole article which also makes that suggestion):

This^

It is what it is, dolphins can muck up a fisherman's catch, for sure. I've worked a couple of cases on this very matter, both of them were from commercial fisherman. I personally have heard of commercial fisherman/shrimpers that will not hesitate to shoot dolphins around their nets. I'm not saying this is the right way to handle it by ANY stretch of the imagination, I personally don't care for dolphins, having been on the mean end of one once. They can be quite aggressive when their babies are around, a fact I found out the hard way in 2004 when I decided to jump of my boat 40 miles out in the gulf for a quick swim to cool off(it's HOT on the gulf in the summertime, no breeze).
We noticed the dolphins following us, and correctly attributed "the bite" dying off due to them, and I decided to cool off real quick before we moved somewhere else where no dolphins were by diving into the gulf. I have done this for years, dolphins around or not. I had no idea they were directly under the boat when I jumped off of it. I was immediately attacked by a big female, who grabbed my by my right ankle/heel and dragged me down about 25 feet before letting me go. Most scared I've ever been in my life-they are STRONG like you can't even imagine. The others were making HIGH speed passes at me on my way back to the surface, and I have no doubt they could've killed me if they wanted to.

Anyway, I have no ill will toward the bastards(I don't jump off my boat anymore if they're around, lol!), nor do I think them getting caught in nets/scaring fish away is an excuse for this type of behavior. Just had an old-timer fisher-friend tell me yesterday that they found one the same way around here just a week ago, pretty sick we human humans can be.

[tod evans]

Could be time to repeal laws protecting dolphins?

Much better to shred 'em can 'em and eat 'em that mutilate 'em and let 'em rot...

[Acala]

My theory:

We know that the Navy has been training dolphins for military porpoises. I think these dolphins defected from the program and were going to blow the whistle. So they were rubbed out.

[idiom]

I was thinking... OMG not another circumcision thread.

Happily surprised.

Then Sad cuz poor dolphins :(

[Expatriate]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Dolphins!

Edit: whoops I misread the title, mutilated dolphins suck