A Florida teenager says she received death threats after she plucked a baby dolphin out of the ocean for an Instagram photo — and the mammal later died.
The unidentified 19-year-old posted a photo online showing him smiling as he lifted a baby dolphin several feet out of the water on Amelia Island under a bridge that crosses Nassau Sound. The young dolphin was found dead in the same area on Wednesday, News4Jax reported.
The social media post sparked outrage and prompted an investigation from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission [FWC] and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Dr. Quincy Gibson, an associate professor of coastal and marine biology at UNF, reviewed the FWC report on the incident and said investigators believe the dead year-old dolphin found by wildlife officers is the same one in the photo.
The man posted a photo of himself smiling with the fish while a friend gave the camera the finger.
“From what I hear, everyone [at FWC] seems to agree that it is,” he said, noting that dolphins can be identified by their unique dorsal fin.
“The shape matches the picture where the dolphin is [is] detained… most likely,” added Gibson.
It’s unclear whether the dolphin was alive or dead in the photo, but Gibson said if it was alive at the time, it wouldn’t be for long.
WJXT
Photos of dolphins in the FWC report show the animals bloated and bleeding from the mouth — which is part of the fish’s decomposition process, he said.
“I think it is very likely that it died after that [the photo was taken]but there is a very small chance that it had died recently, when they took it in the water,” said Dr Gibson.
“But based on the reports I’ve heard, and the photos and the way people behave in the photos, it looks like they captured it…and it was potentially alive at that point.”
The man who posted the image has defended himself against online backlash, claiming it was an accident.
Dr. Quincy Gibson told News4Jax a dead dolphin found appears to be the same one in the Instagram post.WJXT
In response to a critic’s comment, he reportedly replied “whatever” while adding “once in a lifetime to catch a dolphin as bycatch from the beach,” according to a screenshot of the post shared by Kevin Beaugrand, who reported the photo. to state officials.
“I was immediately angry,” Beaugrand, a surfer, told News4JAX. He said, he saw the post on Saturday’s surfing account.
“It is a crime against nature,” he said.
The dolphin was found in the water near the bridge that crosses Nassau Sound on Amelia Island.WJXT
In a brief statement to the outlet, he said: “We’re trying to see if it’s still alive, or if we can revive it,” adding, “There’s nothing we can do.”
The teenager has since received death threats, reports the Daily Mail.
He has yet to be charged with a crime, despite harassing wild dolphins – even if they are dead – under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
If convicted, violators of the Marine Mammal Protection Act could face civil penalties of up to about $34,000 or criminal fines and up to a year in prison, according to News4Jax.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
