When a baby dolphin came in close to the shoreline of a crowded beach in Spain, curious beachgoers decided to touch the animal and take pictures with it. But for the stranded animal, this led to its death.
The incident occurred last week on Friday in Mojácar, a village on the country’s southeastern coast, according to Equinac, a marine wildlife rescue organization located in Almeria. The organization tried to rescue the animal but by the time rescuers arrived at the scene it was too late– the dolphin had already died.
“The rescuer was nervous when he saw hundreds of people pouncing on the animal,” Equinac said in a lengthy Facebook post, describing the incidents of that day. “Once again we find that the human being is the most irrational species that exists, many are unable to feel empathy for a living being alone, scared, starving, without his mother and terrified….All you want is to photograph and touch it, even if the animal suffers from stress.”
Cetaceans, generally succumb to stress easily. When they are subjected to incidents such as the one that occurred last Friday, they can go into shock and suffer cardiorespiratory failure, Equinac warned in a separate Facebook post. However, in this case, the baby dolphin died because curious onlookers accidentally covered the animal’s spiracle, the blowhole it uses to breathe.
It is never a good idea to idea to engage with marine animals that come up by the shoreline because in many cases this could mean something is wrong.
“When they [cetaceans] arrive stranded it is because they have a problem, if you reintroduce them, you will only get them to die drowned or in worse shape, and if you dedicate yourself to taking photos and manipulating them, the animals will enter into a state of shock,” the organization wrote.
In instances as such, it is best to call animal rescue groups who can better tend to the situation.
In Spain, there is a law that prohibits cetaceans and wild animals from being killed, injured or disturbed. “Please be sensible, be empathetic, be respectful,” Equinac urged.
Featured Image via Flickr/Mark Interrante
