GULFPORT, Miss. - The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Gulfport is working around the clock as a mysterious pair of whales, their species unseen in South Mississippi for 40 years, fight for survival.

Director Moby Solangi says a fisherman Tuesday reported what he thought were two dead dolphins on the beach in Waveland. Solangi tells The Sun Herald (http://bit.ly/1iiIIM1 ) when rescue teams arrived, they discovered not only were they not dead, they were not dolphins. 

Solangi says the mammals are two melon-headed whales, a species native to deep waters near Hawaii. He says the whales are in critical condition - severely dehydrated, disoriented and unable to swim on their own. One also is suffering from a shark bite. 

The team won't know what is ailing the whales until blood tests are completed.