Wildlife officials say a pregnant bottlenose dolphin was found shot dead on a Florida beach.
The dolphin, who was within weeks of giving birth, was found on Miramar Beach in the panhandle.
Necropsy results showed a bullet lodged in her lung and that she was shot on the upper right side, likely with a small caliber firearm. Officials said it's possible the dolphin was shot one to two days before she was found.
Officials said similar cases have been seen in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama in the last several years. Dolphins have been found strangled or shot, and one was found with a screwdriver lodged in its head.
"Unfortunately, these dolphins face many threats, including the continued impacts from the Gulf oil spill, fishing gear entanglements, and habitat loss," said Courtney Vail, Whale and Dolphin Conservation's Campaigns and Programs Manager, in a press release. "It is disheartening that they are also subjected to brutal attacks and targeted vandalism.”
The Whale and Dolphin Conservation is offering a $2,500 reward for information that may lead to an arrest. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Law Enforcement is investigating the case. Anyone with information is urged to call the NOAA Enforcement Hotline anonymously at 1-800-853-1964.
