Argentine media report the death of the baby dolphin came on February 5 at the Santa Teresita beach, about 350 kilometers (215 miles) southeast of the country’s major city of Buenos Aires.
Numerous photos have made their way online showing a large group of people — dozens of them — on the crowded beach paying little or no heed to the health of the baby Franciscana dolphin. Many media reports are referring to the crowd as “tourists” though it is unclear where they were from.
Franciscana dolphins are, according to the International Union for Conservation, on the endangered list. An Argentinian branch of the World Wildlife Foundation, the Fundación Vida Silves, said in a statement two dolphin calves were pulled out of the waters and one succumbed to dehydration.
“One of them ended up dying,” Vida Silvestre’s translated statement on Facebook said. “Like other dolphins, they can not stay long out of the water because its thick skin provides internal heat, quickly causing dehydration and death.”
In some photos it does appear there are some of those in the crowd concerned about what is being done but there are no reports of anyone stepping in to intervene. Further, that the baby dolphin who died was left in the sand suggests a lack of concern for the creature.
In an interview with a TV station in Argentina, a man who took a selfie with a baby dolphin claimed that the dead baby was already deceased when they came upon it. Others have disputed his claim.
