A dolphin that ran aground on a beach in the municipality of Puerto Colombia, in the Colombian department of Atlántico, died after a group of people preferred to take selfies with the animal instead of helping it return to the sea, report local media.
Video: dolphin dies on the beach of Puerto Colombia ➡https://t.co/OMVbPd6he3 pic.twitter.com/wPlZe3gJOE
— THE HERALD (@elheraldoco) February 6, 2023
The incident took place on Sunday of last week during a traditional music festival known as the ‘Sirenato de la Cumbia’. A witness, identified as Karen Turbay Leyva, reported that the “People kicked the dolphin and left it dying instead of helping it”. He also mentioned that the residents and festival attendees took out the cetacean of approximately three meters in length “to take pictures of it.”
“Even a policeman who was there instead of helping what he asked was that they give him the body of the dolphin that he wanted to dissect,” said Turbay Leyva, who added that he knelt down to “ask for help” but was ignored.
On that same day, another dolphin was stranded in the middle of some stones on the beach of the coastal town. According to Andrés Suárez, assistant to the Sirenato de la Cumbia, the animal passed away after hitting a rock while event logistics staff tried to free him. The inhabitants of Puerto Colombia commented that this situation had already occurred on previous occasions.
According to local media, it is believed that the strong breezes and current changes in the region contributed to the animals becoming disoriented and ending up stranded on the beach.
The entrance They leave a stranded dolphin to die on a Colombian beach for taking selfies was first published on newspaper TODAY.
