A rare-baby dolphin washed ashore in Argentina allegedly died after beachgoers took selfies with it. In this video shot at Santa Teresita beach, south of Buenos Aires in Argentina last week, a dolphin can be seen being passed between the crowd and pictures being taken. The dolphin reportedly died due to overheating after it was washed ashore and taken out of water by a tourist. Later it was left stranded on the sand.
The rare La Plata dolphin, also known as the Franciscana dolphin, can live for up to 20 years and was paraded on the Santa Teresita beach for selfies even as it wriggled and eventually died.
The crowd continued to take photos even as it lay dead on the sand, reported The Mirror, which added that the dolphin was “picked up out of the sea by a crowd”.
The final moments before the dolphin died was photographed by one Hernan Coria on Feb 11 and posted on Facebook. The Daily Mail reported that the episode caused the Wildlife Foundation in Argentina to issue a public reminder about the vulnerable species, which is only found off the coast of Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. “The Franciscana, like other species, cannot remain for much time outside of the water. It has a thick fatty skin which gives it heat and means that taking it out of the water rapidly causes it to dehydrate and die,” they said.