6-year-old dolphin dies at Brookfield Zoo

Micco, pronounced MEE'-coh, a six-year-old Atlantic bottlenose dolphin at Brookfield Zoo, has died.

Zoo officials say they believe a respiratory infection killed the young animal. An official cause of death has yet to be determined.

Officials say Micco had stopped eating normally in December and was put on a regimen of antibiotics. After initially responding well, his condition worsened and he died Sunday afternoon.

Dr. Randall Wells is a Chicago Zoological Society conservation biologist. He says respiratory problems are the leading cause of death for stranded dolphins in the wild.

Micco was born at Brookfield Zoo in October 2001. Dolphins can live into their 30s.