- Officials are offering a reward of up to $20,000 for information about beachgoers who harassed a dolphin to death.
- The dolphin became stranded on a Texas beach and beachgoers harassed and pretended to ride it.
- Harming wild dolphins is punishable by up to $100,000 in fines and up to one year in jail per violation.
A reward of up to $20,000 for information about the beachgoers who harassed a dolphin that died on a Texas beach has been offered.
In April, the female bottlenose dolphin was found alive and stranded on Quintana Beach. Beachgoers pushed her back out to sea and tried to swim with and ride her, nonprofit group, Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network, said in a Facebook post.
The dolphin was stranded again and was "further harassed by a crowd of people" before dying on the beach, the group said.
"This type of harassment causes undue stress to wild dolphins, is dangerous for the people who interact with them, and is illegal," the group said.
While a witness did call the organization before the animal's death, rescuers could not reach the scene in time.
Federal agency NOAA Fisheries announced the reward for information and said officials had obtained footage of the incident that may help in identifying those involved, according to CNN.
Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network executive director Heidi Whitehead told The Washington Post that the organization had told the crowd to bring the animal to shore, but they did not listen.
Beachgoers instead crowded the dolphin and placed their children on top of it to pretend they were riding it, she told the Post.
She explained that stranded dolphins are usually injured or sick and could have difficulty breathing.
The group said that stranded dolphins should not be pushed back out to sea.
The necropsy of the dolphin showed that it died from drowning, according to NOAA.
Harassing, harming, killing, or feeding wild dolphins is prohibited under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and is punishable by up to $100,000 in fines and up to 1 year in jail per violation, said NOAA.