Virginia Beach, Va. - A bottle-nose dolphin died Saturday afternoon at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront.
According to Matthew Klepeisz with the Virginia Aquarium, the dolphin was spotted in distress by the Aquarium's research vessel around 11 a.m. near 24th St.
The Aquarium's Stranding Response Team monitored its progress. Klepeisz says they were prepared to attend to the dolphin if hit the beach, but it did not strand despite coming close to the shore several times.
The dolphin slowly moved north until it died at 33rd St. around 4 p.m. It was about 25 feet from shore at the time.
It was recovered and is now at the Aquarium where a necropsy will be performed Sunday.
According to Klepeisz, the dolphin was thin with a large lesion on its snout and several oral lesions, suggesting a long-term illness. It also had several fresh shark bites, two of which were severe.
The dolphin was a male, less than ten years old.
