http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2016/02/18/endangered-baby-dolphin-dies-after-swimmers-pass-it-around-for-selfies/

Endangered baby dolphin dies after swimmers pass it around for selfies

By Peter Holley February 18 at 3:28 PM

A rare baby dolphin was killed in Argentina after it was pulled out of the water for photos. (Courtesy of Hernan Coria)

An endangered baby dolphin was killed on a beach in Argentina last week after the animal was plucked from the water and passed around by beach-goers for petting and photos.

The incident, which took place at the beach resort town of Santa Teresita, has drawn wide condemnation from animal lovers and activists, including the Argentine Wildlife Foundation (AWF), which released a statement urging people to return dolphins encountered near the shore to ocean waters.

La Plata dolphins — also known as Franciscana dolphins — are only found in Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil, and fewer than 30,000 of them remain in the wild, the foundation said. The only type of river dolphin to inhabit saltwater, Franciscana dolphins are categorized as "vulnerable" on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species.

The IUNC notes that the main threats to the dolphins are gillnets, which are known to drown, injure or attach to marine mammals, causing extreme fatigue, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

But as it turns out, curious swimmers and other beach-goers are also a top threat.

Video footage of last week's incident shows the animal being scooped up by a man and quickly surrounded by a curious mob eager to touch the animal.

The miniature dolphin, no more than a few feet long, is eventually left to die in the mud, where it can be seen lying motionless.

At no point in the footage does it appear that anyone in the crowd intervened or attempted to return the animal to the water.

"The potential for recovery of this species is very low," the AWF said. "The Franciscan, like other dolphins, can not long remain above water. It has a very thick and greasy skin that provides warmth, so the weather will quickly cause dehydration and death."

NOAA describes La Plata dolphins as "extremely shy and evasive by nature" and notes that what little is known about them is "surrounded by superstition."

With video and photos of the animal's death circulating online, the reaction has been furious.

A baby dolphin died for some pictures:
http://youtu.be/FqIqBirPW2M/
* Not in English *
01:42 WARNING: VERY Disturbing

Ar$eholes!

All for... SADISTIC SELFISH SELFIES

sometimes can not stop hating human beings !!

saw the photo
cannot help crying !
hate these people !!!!!!!!

I cried through the video. So I had to put the warning up. I hope they arrest that man who took it OUT of the water ! And then kept toughing it & passing it around.

i cannot even dare clicking that video :( i hope the same ! i hope he gets arrested and sentenced badly..

in my country the laws are very!! loose about animals & animal rights
i hope it is stronger at Argentina

This movie explains what is happening in Japan..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qCcJvmlPIs

and this was the sequel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0xsLsM8jGQ

Could you elaborate?
I don't know what is going on Japan.
And I was disturbed enough watching the dolphin suffer, so I need to know what & why you want me to see this. ?

Sassy,

The Cove begins in Taiji, Japan, where former dolphin trainer Ric O’Barry has come to set things right after a long search for redemption. In the 1960s, it was O'Barry who captured and trained the 5 dolphins who played the title character in the international television sensation Flipper.

But his close relationship with those dolphins – the very dolphins who sparked a global fascination with trained sea mammals that continues to this day - led O’Barry to a radical change of heart. One fateful day, a heartbroken Barry came to realize that these deeply sensitive, highly intelligent and self-aware creatures so beautifully adapted to life in the open ocean must never be subjected to human captivity again. This mission has brought him to Taiji, a town that appears to be devoted to the wonders and mysteries of the sleek, playful dolphins and whales that swim off their coast.

But in a remote, glistening cove, surrounded by barbed wire and “Keep Out” signs, lies a dark reality. It is here, under cover of night, that the fishermen of Taiji, driven by a multi-billion dollar dolphin entertainment industry and an underhanded market for mercury-tainted dolphin meat, engage in an unseen hunt. The nature of what they do is so chilling - and the consequences are so dangerous to human health - they will go to great lengths to halt anyone from seeing it.

Woa..I am glad I asked & grateful you told me. Thank you.

No..I can not watch it.
I am aware of Japan's cruelty with sea life, especially dolphins. I have boycotted them for 40-45 yrs.

There was a show I use to watch Called 'Whale Wars" activists continued to try and prevent Japanese Fishermen stop the slaughter of Whales by shutting down the hunt.. The claimed the hunt was for research purposes.

Of course they do.. Aaacchh!!!
They have a cultural obsession for 'exotic food', it is a status symbol to them. And they pay a fortune for it.