A 19-year-old from Florida is in trouble after sharing a dolphin photo on Instagram this week.
In the photo, you can see the man, cheerful and happy, holding a young male dolphin.
It is not the picture with the sea animal in itself that arouses attention – but what happened afterwards:
Lifting a dolphin out of the water can kill it – and that’s exactly what happened.
The male animal was found dead and abandoned on a beach on Wednesday morning.
Newspaper News mentioned the matter first.
Locked boy (14) in packing box
“Rare opportunity”
Local marine biologists have examined the dolphin in question, and now confirm that it is the same one as in the Instagram photo.
Dr. Quincy Gibson from the University of North Florida tells the News that the dolphin was most likely alive when the photo was taken.
The American teenager, who has not been named, defends his actions by saying the dolphin’s death “was an accident”.
He also said that it was “a rare opportunity” and a “once-in-a-lifetime chance” to get such a picture.
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In a later statement, the young man claimed that the one-year-old male dolphin was already dead, and that the 19-year-old found it under a bridge near Nassau Sound, Jacksonville.
However, local marine biologists deny that theory, and for their part are sure that the death is solely the fault of the Instagrammer.
The reactions hail
The dolphin picture spread at full speed in social media earlier this week. Although it has now been removed from the man’s Instagram, it is still being reposted – and the reactions are pouring in:
– This is too damned. Who does something like that for a selfie, thundered Kevin Beaugrand, a local surfer who reposted the photo.
Large study: – Die earlier
Beaugrand says to the News that he is “very disappointed and appalled by the dolphin’s death”.
– I was furious, he says and adds that it is “a crime against nature”.
Florida wildlife conservation is now filing a case with NOAA, a US agency for the study and monitoring of the ocean and atmosphere. They believe the 19-year-old is responsible for its death, writes the News.
The young man has not yet been charged, but the marine biologists hope the action will have consequences, the newspaper further informs.
2023-08-28 08:13:44
#Punished
