CAMERON PARISH, La. — Authorities are looking for suspects they believe shot a Bottlenose dolphin. Audubon Aquarium says the dolphin was shot multiple times in its vital areas.
Dr. Moby Solangi, President of the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies told WWL Louisiana, "Killing one can disrupt their family structure."
He and other marine experts consider dolphins the ocean's smartest creatures. "They're known for their natural curiosity and likeness to humans. Dr. Solangi said, "They live in communities, they're mammals like you and I, they give birth to young, they drink milk for 6-9 months."
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, on March 13 a dead bottlenose dolphin was found on West Mae’s Beach in Cameron Parish. Matt Walia with NOAA says the dolphin found was a young female. He said they can't release any pictures of the dolphin because of the investigation, but says this one is about the same size.
John Fallon with Audubon Aquarium says it was shot multiple times, with bullets found in the brain, spinal cord, and heart. Fallon said, "Our team noticed some potential issues with the carcass so we brought it back here to New Orleans, where we performed a necropsy or animal autopsy."
"We are used to working on deceased animals, but not in this way so when we see this, we always want what's best for these species... so it does take a toll on the team to work on cases like this."
Walia said, "We don't want to see this happening again." For that reason, NOAA is calling on the public for help, offering a $20,000 reward for information that leads to a conviction.
Now a mother dolphin is left swimming around in the Gulf looking for her daughter. Dr. Moby Solangi said, "They are with their mother if it's a juvenile they don't go independently, they're always with their mother."
Dolphins are a protected species. Those caught could be prosecuted civilly or criminally and could face upwards of $100,000 in fines and a year in jail.
Anyone with information about this incident should call the NOAA Enforcement Hotline at (800) 853-1964.
If you see stranded or injured sea turtles or dolphins call the Audubon Aquarium Rescue at (877) 942-5343.
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