Demented Dolphins?

A study in the European Journal of Neuroscience, carried out post-mortem studies on 22 Odontocetes ('toothed whales'), stranded off Scotland's coasts. Three of the animals (a White-beaked dolphin, a Bottlenose dolphin and a Long-finned pilot whale) showed classic neurological markers of Alzheimer's disease (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/19/dolphins-may-suffer-from-alzheimers-disease-say-researchers-in-scotland). Other forms of dementia have been found in non-human animals but not, thus far, Alzheimers. The authors speculate that some mass strandings of otherwise healthy Odontocetes, may result from following a group leader, confused by Alzheimers, into the shallows.