A sick dolphin died after a crowd of people found her stranded on Quintana Beach in Texas.
According to a Facebook post from the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network, the dolphin was still living when she washed ashore. The beachgoers eventually decided to push her back out to sea, but not before trying to swim with and ride the dolphin.
“Park staff was called to assist in keeping the public away from the dolphin until rescuers could arrive from Galveston,” Quintana Park officials said, per Fox 7 Austin. “Unfortunately, it was a retrieval, not a rescue. The animal was taken for necropsy to try and determine the cause of the stranding.”
The post from TMMSN notes that such behavior towards dolphins and all marine mammals is illegal under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and could warrant a fine and maybe even time behind bars. “In this case, it’s a pretty egregious example of what not to do,” TAMU Galveston Marine Biologist Dr. Christopher Marshall said. “People riding the animal, the animal was quite sick, already stressed at this point. The animal was probably on the brink and the stress is what killed it.”
TMMSN mentions that if you come across a similar circumstance with a live dolphin in the state of Texas, the best approach would be call their hotline, 1-800-9MAMMAL, to determine best practices as you wait for rescue response to arrive.
The NOAA Fisheries notes that anyone who violates the MMPA can face a fine upwards of $11,000 and/or one year in prison.
