A baby dolphin has washed up on a beach in Australia, with several bleeding holes in its body, which investigators fear could be bullet holes.
The mammal was found on Thursday, Aug. 22 near Aldinga Beach, south of Adelaide. The animal seemed to have several holes in its head and torso.
**WARNING – Distressing Content** A baby dolphin has been found dead with suspected bullet holes in its head at Aldinga Beach. https://t.co/8ftPfFYTVQ #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/GM1ay6kmAO
— 7NEWS Adelaide (@7NewsAdelaide) August 22, 2019
“Multiple holes around its head and upper body, some of which were still bleeding,” marine rescuer Aaron Machado told 7NEWS. “So, there are concerns as to what could have caused those holes,” he continued.
Others, however, suggested the holes could be the result of a virus. An autopsy is planned for Friday, which will hopefully reveal the cause of the dolphin’s untimely death.
Grieving Dolphin Can’t Accept Her Calf Is Dead, Pushes It Through Florida Waters
A recent video on Twitter shows the heartache of a dolphin who was seen pushing her dead calf through Indian Shores, Florida.
The video was shared by See Through Canoe, a company that manufactures transparent canoes.
“Mother not ready to let go of her dead calf and pushing it through the Intracoastal waterway. It’s hard to say for sure without examination, but the calf may have been hit by a boat. Please don’t assume that because dolphins are fast that you won’t hit them,” See Through Canoe wrote on Twitter.
Mother #dolphin not ready to let go of her dead calf and pushing it through the intracoastal waterway.
It’s hard to say for sure without examination, but the calf may have been hit by a boat. Please don’t assume that because #dolphins are fast that you won’t hit them. #sad pic.twitter.com/Le2MAwvPIB— See Through Canoe (@SeeThroughCanoe) June 3, 2019
Researchers from Tethys Research Institute observing a bottlenose dolphin population of the Amvrakikos Gulf in the Mediterranean Sea witnessed a similar incident in 2006.
They saw a mother dolphin repeatedly lifting the dead calf to the surface. “This was repeated over and over again, sometimes frantically, during two days of observation,” said Joan Gonzalvo of the Institute, according to Mother Nature Network.
“The mother never separated from her calf…. [She] seemed unable to accept the death,” Gonzalvo said.
A year later, he observed something similar when he saw a pod of dolphins trying to help a 3-month-old calf who was dying and sinking.
“The group appeared stressed, swimming erratically,” he said. “Adults were trying to help the dying animal stay afloat, but it kept sinking.”
“My hypothesis is that the sick animal was kept company and given support, and when it died, the group had done their job. In this case, they had already assumed death would eventually come—they were prepared.”
Epoch Times reporter Venus Upadhayaya contributed to this report.
