Image: Bioexpedition


BY JASMINE BAILEY

ANCHOR ZACH TOOMBS


Dolphins— mutilated, shot and murdered, have been found washed up on the shores of the Gulf Coast. Authorities are clueless as to who is behind the killings. Good Morning America has the details.


“Animals with bullets in them, we’ve seen animals their tails cut off , animals with their jaws cut off.
“Authorities have found 4 dolphins either floating in the water or washed up on beaches in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.”


The Herald Sun has a quote from the executive director of the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies.
"Animals don't eat each other's tails off … We think there's someone or some group on a rampage…They not only kill them but also mutilate them."


The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued a “heads up” directive — putting officials on alert for increased human interaction with dolphins in the waters where the attacks took place. Investigators are also looking to fishermen to help find those responsible.


According to the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 — anyone found harassing, harming, killing or feeding wild dolphins can be fined up to $100,000 and sentenced to a maximum of one year in jail.


Authorities are urging anyone with more information call the Department of Marine Resources or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.