Trending: Tiny dolphin dies after people try to take selfies with it

By Christine Chubb and The Canadian Press

Congratulations humanity, your self-obsession has hit a new low.

A tiny dolphin was left for dead in Buenos Aires last week after people plucked the mammal from the sea and then passed it around the crowd so that they could pet it and take selfies with it.

 

 

When they were done, instead of returning the dolphin to the water, people left it for dead on the shore. It’s suspected the dolphin died of dehydration.

“The Franciscana, like other species, cannot remain for much time outside of the water, it has thick fatty skin which gives it heat and means that taking it out of the water rapidly causes it to dehydrate and die,” the Wildlife Foundation of Argentina said in a statement.

A video of the incident was posted on LiveLeak. Watch it below or click here for a mobile-friendly version.

While not on the extinction list, the Franciscana dolphin – also known as the La Plata dolphin – is considered a vulnerable species.

Closer to home, a 12-year-old North American river otter drowned at the Calgary Zoo after a pair of pants were placed in the exhibit.

The otter, named Logan, was discovered struggling in the pool last Thursday at the facility’s Canadian Wilds section.

A keeper jumped in to save him, but the animal did not survive.

In a release, the zoo said the pants were given to the exhibit’s otters in the exhibit without authorization, and that a necropsy revealed Logan drowned after becoming tangled in the clothing.

Officials said their investigation also showed that zoo protocols were broken by two staff members, who have been disciplined.

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