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At least two dolphins died after a group of up to 50 avoided a mass stranding in the Highlands at the weekend.

The bottlenose dolphins were seen in shallow water in the Cromarty Firth on Saturday.

Most of the group were able to reach the safety of deeper water on a tide, but two were found dead.

On Monday, conservationists and scientists were following up on a report that a third dolphin had died.

The group was spotted in the Moray Firth on Friday, then swam into the Cromarty Firth, where dolphins have become stranded before in the more sheltered and shallower water.

Whale and Dolphin Conservation field officer Charlie Phillips said the dolphins were not from the local bottlenose population.

Individual dolphins can be identified by the shape and markings on their dorsal fins.

Mr Phillips said the group appeared to be "behaving strangely".

Scientists from Inverness-based Scottish Marine Animal Strandings Scheme, part of the University of Glasgow, are examining the two of the dead dolphins.

The third dead animal was reported to have been found near Findhorn on the Moray Firth in Moray.