Eight dolphins have died after washing up on a beach in New Jersey, officials said.
The Marine Mammal Stranding Center reported on Facebook Tuesday that eight common dolphins were stranded in Sea Isle City and that staff and a veterinarian rushed to the scene with the help of local officials. Officials said at the time that two of the dolphins had died.
On Tuesday afternoon, they added that the six dolphins were analyzed by the veterinarian and the decision was made to sacrifice them to prevent further suffering. Their condition was deteriorating rapidly and returning them to the ocean would have prolonged their inevitable deaths, they said.
The dolphins were taken to the New Jersey State Laboratory for autopsies.
“We share the pain the public feels for these beautiful animals and hope that the autopsies will help us understand why they were stranded,” the Facebook post reads.