Dolphins Trapped in N.Y. Cove

Dolphins feeding in waters north of East Hampton, N.Y., met with distress as four of the water mammals died and others showed signs of slowing.

Rescuers said the school of about 30 dolphins seemed to be trapped in a shallow cove in the Northwest Harbor, The New York Times reported Monday.

The rescuers said the dolphins, which are made more nervous by the cold water, are reluctant to brave sandbars and shallows to reach the narrow outlet of the cove and escape to deeper waters. Three attempts to herd the dolphins using high-frequency sound makers called pingers were unsuccessful Sunday.

It’s like trying to push them over a fence, said Chuck Hamilton, a regional supervisor for New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation.

Hamilton said the mammals’ food source in the cove appears to have been depleted. He said necropsy results from the dead dolphins were not yet available, but rescuers had not seen evidence of the animals eating Saturday or Sunday.