This needs to stop!
On Tuesday, Equinac — a non-profit organization dedicated to saving marine life — shared a shocking post on its Facebook page about the death of a baby dolphin in Mojácar, Spain.
According to the group, the young mammal beached itself on shore most likely because it was ill, or because it was separated from its mother.
Although the nearby tourists were not responsible for the animal's beaching, their ridiculous actions exacerbated the dolphin's death. Onlookers not only kept touching the calf, they took selfies with the sea creature instead of offering help.
Related: SeaWorld Orca Purposely Beaches Herself After Park Show!
The group said (via translation):
"It took us 15 minutes to arrive, but the animal was already dead."
Equinac believes the dolphin was shocked by all the stress and attention surrounding it.
"Animals are very susceptible to stress, and their manipulation, to take pictures and touch them, causes them a very strong shock that accelerates, to a large extent, heart failure, which is what finally happened."
The charity wants to remind everyone how fragile these creatures truly are, and doing anything to harm them is simply illegal.
"Let us remind everyone that these animals are highly protected; to disturb them, to harm them… and to manipulate them is prohibited by law, and we always ask for respect and consideration."
Unfortunately, this isn't the first time this has happened. As we reported, last year, a crowd of beachgoers in Argentina picked up a Franciscana dolphin from the ocean and passed it around for photos. The animal eventually died due to overheating and dehydration.
Shameful!
For more information on this week's dolphin tragedy:
