One teen’s beach day dolphin selfie ended in a death and an investigation after his porpoise companion was found deceased near Jacksonville, Florida.
The 19-year-old man, who has yet to be publicly named, decided to snap up a dolphin from under a bridge on Amelia Island, picking up the porpoise for an Instagram photo op. The juvenile dolphin, believed to be the same one in the picture, was found dead mere days later.
The teen, who claimed they had received death threats since sharing the photo, has since apologized yet it seems the damage is done, with authorities already investigating the incident.
Another baby dolphin dies for the sake of a selfie https://t.co/gQDQtpcRKV pic.twitter.com/yJv6pj0r0D
— nancelarson (@nancelarson) August 25, 2023
Though it's unclear what this investigation has uncovered thus far, Dr. Quincy Gibson, an associate professor of coastal and marine biology at the University of North Florida, said that there may have been a “very small” chance that the dolphin was dead at the time of the photo, meaning the controversial selfie may have done it in.
“Based off of the reports that I’ve heard, and the photo and the way that the people are behaving in the photo, it makes it seem like they did catch it...and it was potentially alive at that point,” he explained to local outlet, WJXT.
But it’s not just experts who are peeved at the picture. As the photo began making the rounds on social media, several Sunshine State residents headed to Reddit to admonish the latest Florida Man.
“**** Florida man,” commented u/ Hidesuru on a post shared to r/FloridaMan. “Poor baby.”
“People are the worst thing that ever happened on Planet Earth,” added u/CynicallyCyn.
So take it from this teen’s tale of dolphin woe — there’s no good porpoise for taking selfish selfies.
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