<p class="title">Namibia said on Monday that 86 dusky dolphins, including two calves just days old, had been found dead on a remote beach and it had launched an investigation into what happened.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Marine biologist Kolette Grobler estimated that the mammals had been dead for about a week before they were found on Friday by commercial lobster fishermen at Hottentot Bay, some 40 km (25 miles) north of the southwestern coastal town of Luderitz.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We suspect that one of them was injured or got sick and called on the others for help, and this might have caused them to accidentally beach themselves," Grobler said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We, unfortunately, could not take samples due to the decomposition, but we took water samples to determine if the dolphins ate toxic plankton."</p>.<p class="bodytext">The ministry of fisheries and marine resources said it would investigate the cause of the dolphins' death.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The dusky dolphin, known for its aerial acrobatic skills, is found off South America, southern Australia and New Zealand as well as southwestern Africa.</p>.<p class="bodytext">As well as the dusky dolphin, Namibian waters are also home to the bottlenose dolphin and the Heaviside's dolphin.</p>
<p class="title">Namibia said on Monday that 86 dusky dolphins, including two calves just days old, had been found dead on a remote beach and it had launched an investigation into what happened.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Marine biologist Kolette Grobler estimated that the mammals had been dead for about a week before they were found on Friday by commercial lobster fishermen at Hottentot Bay, some 40 km (25 miles) north of the southwestern coastal town of Luderitz.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We suspect that one of them was injured or got sick and called on the others for help, and this might have caused them to accidentally beach themselves," Grobler said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We, unfortunately, could not take samples due to the decomposition, but we took water samples to determine if the dolphins ate toxic plankton."</p>.<p class="bodytext">The ministry of fisheries and marine resources said it would investigate the cause of the dolphins' death.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The dusky dolphin, known for its aerial acrobatic skills, is found off South America, southern Australia and New Zealand as well as southwestern Africa.</p>.<p class="bodytext">As well as the dusky dolphin, Namibian waters are also home to the bottlenose dolphin and the Heaviside's dolphin.</p>