PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS CONVERTED 4:3 MATERIAL

At least 260 dolphins have washed ashore in Peru.

They were found over an area 106 kilometers long in the Lambayaque region.

While the officials are still not sure why the mammals died, they have not ruled out the possibility that they were hunted.

This local fisherman said the dolphins aren't usually found in that area.

(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) UNIDENTIFIED LOCAL FISHERMAN, SAYING:

"If we go deeper, we do see the dolphins but you don't see them over here. They don't live on the shore, it's very rare."

Peruvian Sea Institute officials took samples to study in their lab.

One of them said a number of anchovies were also found floating dead in the sea.

He speculated that the dolphins and anchovies could have died from the same problem, or the smaller fishes have contaminated the mammals.

Sophia Soo, Reuters.