Dead Dolphin Found on Beach with Bullets Lodged in Brain, Spine, and Heart; NOAA Offers $20,000 Reward

In a dis­turb­ing and trag­ic inci­dent, a dol­phin was found dead on a Louisiana beach last month with mul­ti­ple bul­lets lodged in its body. 

Accord­ing to the Nation­al Ocean­ic and Atmos­pher­ic Admin­is­tra­tion (NOAA), the bot­tlenose dol­phin’s remains were dis­cov­ered on March 13 at West Mae’s Beach in Cameron Parish. A necrop­sy revealed that the dol­phin had suf­fered trau­ma from the bul­lets, which were found in its brain, spinal cord, and heart.

The NOAA is now offer­ing a $20,000 reward for infor­ma­tion lead­ing to the iden­ti­fi­ca­tion and con­vic­tion of the individual(s) respon­si­ble for this hor­rif­ic act. The bul­lets found in the dol­phin’s body are believed to be con­sis­tent with a firearm.

This inci­dent has sparked out­rage and con­cern for the wel­fare of marine life in the region. Dol­phins are intel­li­gent and social crea­tures, and such acts of cru­el­ty are deeply distressing.

Author­i­ties are urg­ing any­one with infor­ma­tion to come for­ward and assist in hold­ing the perpetrator(s) account­able for their actions.