A baby dolphin is dead after beachgoers on an Argentinian beach passed it around and snapped photos with the mammal.
The desire to snap the perfect selfie with the Franciscan, or La Plata, dolphin proved overwhelming to the crowd of onlookers last week in Santa Teresita, Buenos Aires.
Because of the photo-taking, the animal was out of the water for too long, and later died.
The small dolphin is found in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay and is at risk for extinction, according to the Argentine Wildlife Foundation.
“The occasion serves to inform the public about the urgent need to return to these dolphins to sea,” a spokesperson said in the statement, adding, “it is vital that people help to rescue these animals.”
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While some dolphins wash up on shore each year, hundreds more are caught in shark nets, according to the American Cetacean Society.
Online, people condemned the act.
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