Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/beached-dolphin-dies-texas/

A dolphin reportedly died after being stranded alive on the beach and being man-handled and ridden by beachgoers.

The incident was reported on by the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network, who shared the heartbreaking news as a warning to others: It’s virtually never ok to approach and interact with wildlife.

In a Facebook post, the network shared that the dolphin was stranded alive on Quintana Beach in Texas.

Allegedly, beachgoers pushed the dolphin back into the water and that’s when things went downhill. According to the post, “beachgoers attempted to swim with and ride the sick animal.”

“She ultimately stranded and was further harassed by a crowd of people on the beach where she later died before rescuers could arrive on scene,” the post continued.

The network went on to explain that the people who interacted with the wild dolphin caused “undue stress” to the poor animal and put themselves in danger in the process.

“DO NOT PUSH the animal back to sea, do not attempt to swim or interact with them, do not crowd them,” they wrote. Instead, you should always call a professional rescuer to assess the situation. Interacting with wild animals puts them at risk of death or injury and puts the people at risk of injury as well. Wild animals, including marine mammals, are unpredictable.

The Quintana Beach County Park called the incident a “tragedy” on Facebook, noting that park staff were called to “assist in keeping the public away from the dolphin until rescuers could arrive,” but they arrived too late to save the animal.

It’s a good reminder to leave wildlife alone. Even well-intentioned interactions, like pushing a beached mammal back to sea, can have devastating consequences.

Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog