The Star-Ledger reports that a juvenile bottlenose dolphin was found dead on the Fair Haven bank of the Navesink River this morning.

And wNBC.com says most of the dolphin pod that’s been in the river since July 7 appears to have left the vicinity of the Oceanic Bridge, with only about half a dozen remaining.

From the Sledger:

The young, 4-to-5 foot animal was found rolling in the surf by a worker of a nearby yacht club. Authorities have not confirmed if it was among the dozen dolphins in the Navesink that have drawn national attention.

“We assume it is,” said Robert Schoelkopf, director of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine.

The animal was being shipped to Pennsylvania, where wildlife experts will determine the cause of death.

“We don’t think the animal has dead for more than 24 hours,” Schoelkopf said.

The Sledger has pictures of the dead animal.

From NBC:

On Tuesday, about a dozen dolphins finally began moving back out to the ocean.

Experts said the animals were no longer visible to experts monitoring them, officials said.

However, the smaller pod of six dolphins stayed behind for now, and can be seen in the Navesink downriver from Red Bank and near the Oceanic Bridge.

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