Dolphin Dies After Tourists Make It Pose For Too Many Photos

While waiting for professional rescuers to save an injured dolphin stranded on a popular beach in Sanya, China, tourists taking souvenir photos ended up killing the helpless animal.

Failing to think of the consequences of their behavior, the tourists picked the distressed dolphin up out of the water again and again for nearly 30 minutes to use it as a prop for photos, South China Morning Post reports. Lifeguards eventually intervened and guided the dolphin away to prevent further manhandling, but the poor animal ultimately died due to excessive bleeding from its tail fin.

An op-ed on Chinese news site rednet.cn scolded the snap-happy tourists, saying they ignored the dolphin’s weakness just so they could take smartphone photos to share with their friends. The Daily Mail says the tourists, whose photos have since gone viral on a Chinese social networking site Sina Weibo, may now face animal cruelty charges.

[via Grist]