Dolphin Suicides in UK Caused by Royal Navy?

If this photo disturbs you, you're not alone. These dolphins are part of a mass dolphin "suicide" I read about in the UK's Guardian publication today. Some theories believe that the stranding and death of 25+ dolphins might be linked to the Royal Navy dropping charges on a submerged vessel as part of routine "exercises":

Many experts believe an underwater disturbance may have led the dolphins to panic and beach themselves. The coastguard and local people have said there had been intense military activity in the area in the days before the strandings.

The Royal Navy was doing live firing exercises involving a submarine in the area at the time, and the Ministry of Defence said one of its vessels had been using short-range sonar to scan the sea bed. But a spokesman for the service said the trials were 12 miles off Falmouth. "It is considered extremely unlikely that this operation could have affected the mammals in any way.

Another theory is the juvenile dolphins could have been avoiding a killer whale which prompted the stranding. Either way, it really is upsetting to hear about stories like this, and since postmortem tests won't be available for weeks, I can only hope the results show that it was not man made.