A federal investigation is underway in New Jersey after a mutilated dolphin was found washed ashore last week.
The Marine Mammal Stranding Center said the butchered dolphin — missing all its organs other than the heart and lungs — was discovered on an Allenhurst beach on Wednesday. A sharp object was possibly used to cut off all of the dolphin’s flesh aside from its head, dorsal fins, and flukes (tailfins).
Witnesses spotted a dolphin struggling in the surf the night before the dolphin carcass was found on shore. Though Tuesday’s incident occurred a block from where the dead dolphin was discovered, it is unclear whether it was the same dolphin.
“Witnesses reported that the dolphin was able to make it over the sandbar and swam back out,” the organization said.
Stranding Center employees brought the dolphin’s carcass, where it was photographed before being buried on the beach.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is investigating.
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