Baby dolphin left to die in the mud after beachgoers pass it around for selfies
An endangered baby dolphin was killed on a beach in Argentina last week after the animal was plucked from the water and passed around by beachgoers for petting and photos.
The incident, which took place at the beach resort town of Santa Teresita, has drawn wide condemnation from animal lovers and activists, including the Argentine Wildlife Foundation (AWF), which released a statement urging people to return dolphins encountered near the shore to ocean waters.
La Plata dolphins - also known as Franciscana dolphins - are only found in Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil, and fewer than 30,000 of them remain in the wild, the foundation said. The only type of river dolphin to inhabit saltwater, Franciscana dolphins are categorized as “vulnerable” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.
The IUNC notes that the main threats to the dolphins are gill nets, which are known to drown, injure or attach to marine mammals, causing extreme fatigue, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
But as it turns out, curious swimmers and other beachgoers are also a top threat.
Video footage of last week’s incident shows the animal being scooped up by a man and quickly surrounded by a curious mob eager to touch the animal.
