They wanted to capture a baby dolphin on camera, and it cost her her life. Last week, a Franciscana dolphin died after beachgoers in Argentina pulled her and another dolphin from the water so that people could take photos.
Images from the scene show the young dolphin being held high above the throng of eager people in the hot sun. Much like fish, dolphins cannot survive out of water for long. “They have very thick and greasy skin that provides warmth, so the weather will quickly cause dehydration and death,” an environmentalist from the Vida Silvestre Foundation wrote online in response to the terrible incident.
The group confirmed that at least one of the dolphins was killed by the over-excited (and stupid) people.
Franciscana dolphins are listed as a “vulnerable” species with only around 30,000 thought to be left in the world. The Vida Silvestre Foundation said, “This occasion serves to inform the public about the urgent necessity to return these dolphins to the sea as soon as possible if they find them on the shore. It is fundamental that people help to rescue these animals, because every Franciscana counts now.”
How sad is this? It seems that mob mentality and the need for a “cool photo” came at the expense of common sense.
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