TOKYO (AFP): Japanese officials were burying several more dolphins on Monday as researchers tried to work out why scores of the animals beached themselves last week. Eight melon-headed whales, a species of dolphin, were found washed up along the coast at Hokota, around 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Tokyo. A city official said the dolphins were probably part of the original herd that rescuers had taken back out to sea. “Unfortunately they are all dead, so we will bury the bodies this afternoon,” the official told AFP.
Locals in Hokota reported finding dozens of melon-headed whales on a 10-kilometre stretch of beach on Friday morning.
Throughout the day, volunteers and coastguard officials worked to try to save them, pouring seawater over them and carrying some back into the ocean.