Animal Lovers

A picture may be worth a thousand words — but this one cost a life. Last week, a young Franciscana dolphin was killed on a beach in Argentina as a consequence of rough handling by throngs of eager tourists. The animal, along with another dolphin, had reportedly been yanked from the water so people could take photos. Images from the scene show one of the dolphins surrounded by a crowd of beachgoers , unprotected from the hot sun. "[Dolphins] can not remain long above water," an environmentalist from the Vida Silvestre Foundation wrote online in response to the incident . "They have very thick and greasy skin that provides warmth, so the weather will quickly cause dehydration and death." The group confirmed that at least one of the dolphins perished. As if the loss of life for the sake of photographs wasn't troubling enough, Franciscana dolphins are listed as a "vulnerable" species , found only in the waters of southeastern South America. Sadly, th...