The Latest: 2 euthanized dolphins showed signs of illness

HONOLULU (AP) - The Latest on dolphins stranding on a Hawaii beach (all times local):

4 p.m.

Wildlife officials say two dolphins found stranded on a beach on the Hawaii island of Maui were emaciated and breathing heavily.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s regional stranding coordinator, David Schofield, said Tuesday the two animals also had critically low levels of an enzyme, indicating inflammation, illness or poor nutrition. 

He says the veterinarians who examined the animals determined the most humane thing to do would be to euthanize them.

Both dolphins were pygmy killer whales, a species of deep-ocean dolphins often confused with false killer whales and melon-headed whales.

They were among a group of six pygmy killer whales officials had been monitoring off Maui for the past 10 days. The other four are still near the Sugar Beach area of Kihei, a coastal Maui town.

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1:30 p.m.

Marine wildlife officials say they euthanized two dolphins that stranded on a Maui beach, less than a month after another mass stranding in the same area.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Tuesday the bodies of the two pygmy killer whales are being flown to Oahu for post-mortem examination by the University of Hawaii.

Agency officials are monitoring four other members of the same species that are milling close to shore at Sugar Beach.

Pygmy killer whales are dolphins that are often confused with false killer whales and melon-headed whales. The species is found primarily in deep waters throughout tropical and subtropical areas of the world.

Five marine mammals died after a mass stranding along the same beach in late August. Four of the five were euthanized.