A dolphin has reportedly died after it was passed around by beachgoers on an Argentine beach. The reason? For selfies.
The animal, specifically, is an endangered Franciscana dolphin, and only 30,000 exist in the world. It is considered a threatened species.
A video was taken of the incident, and it was uploaded onto YouTube, as seen below (WARNING: The footage might be disturbing for some viewers):
On Facebook, photos showed a man holding up the dolphin on a beach in Santa Teresita, in Buenos Aires province. People were nudging closer to get photos with the marine mammal, and another photo showed it dead on its side.
“The occasion serves to inform the public of the urgent need to return these dolphins to sea,” the Wildlife Foundation in Argentina said on its website, according to a translation from The Guardian. “It is vital that people help to rescue these animals, because every Franciscana counts.”
The dolphin, one of the smallest kinds in the world, is said to have been the second one to have washed up on the beach in a day. They only grow to between 4‘2“ and 5’5” in length.
“It has a very thick, greasy skin that provides warmth, so the weather will quickly cause dehydration and death,” the website states.
The species has been listed as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (ICUN), according to the Telegraph.
The Franciscana, also known as the La Plata dolphin, is generally found in South American waters near the coasts of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay.
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