Authorities are offering up to $20,000 for information after a dolphin was found shot dead on a Louisiana beach last month.
A member of the public saw the bottlenose dolphin, a juvenile, on West Mae’s Beach in Cameron Parish on March 13 and called a hotline for stranded marine mammals.
A necropsy revealed “multiple bullets lodged in the carcass, including in the brain, spinal cord, and heart of the dolphin,” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries department said in a statement on Tuesday.
The animal appeared to have died from the trauma, which occurred near the time of death, it said.
“While this is a tough case, it also highlights the importance of reporting marine mammal and sea turtle strandings to stranding network partners like AAR,” Audubon Aquarium Rescue, which recovered the animal’s body, said in a Facebook post.
NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement is investigating the death and asking the public for information on who could have been involved.
