MIAMI, March 4 (UPI) -- The fight continued Friday to save the lives of about 60 deepwater dolphins stranded along the beaches of the Florida Keys.
Most of the rough-toothed dolphins had been moved from flats and sandbars to a 15-foot deep canal, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Friday.
"Some are free swimming and frolicking and having a good time," said Denise Jackson, a member of the Marine Mammal Rescue Team.
Veterinarians were taking blood samples and doing other assessments on the dolphins, trying to decide what caused the beaching Tuesday.
"We're looking to see if they've got any sickness going through them," Jackson said. "We're looking at their levels of dehydration, which will tell us how much they have been eating, if they have been eating."
Laura Engleby, a biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service said marine mammals may head for the beaches when they are sick, injured or disoriented.
Engleby said rough-tooth dolphins normally inhabit deep, offshore waters in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.
