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RenaSilverman
forNationalGeographicNews
PublishedMarch29,2013
Partofourweekly"InFocus"seriessteppingback,lookingcloser.
WhenLouisianaFisheriesandWildlifepersonneldiscoveredadead
bottlenosedolphinnearElmer'sIslandlatelastyear,theyfigureditwas
anothervictimofthe2010BPfoilspill.
Sotheywereshockedwhenanonsitenecropsyshowednosignsofoilrelated
injury,orofbacterialinfection,biotoxins,ordiseasethemostcommoncauses
ofdeathindolphins.
Instead,theLouisianaofficialsfoundatinypiercingontherightsideofthe
dolphin'sblowhole.Thatholewouldlaterrevealthecauseofdeath:asmall
bulletlodgedintheanimal'slung.
Thekillingturnedouttobeanotherinagrowingstringofapparentattackson
dolphinsandothermarinemammalsreportedalongtheGulfCoastinrecent
months.
AccordingtoaDecemberreportbytheNationalOceanicandAtmospheric
Administration(NOAA),in2012threedolphinswithgunshotwoundswerefound
"stranded"(orwashedashore)alongtheGulfCoastthehighestnumbersince
2004.
Inadditiontothosewithgunshotwounds,severalmutilateddolphinswith
severedheads,missingtails,fullbodyslashesacrosstheirabdomens,and
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AbottlenosedolphinfoundshotdeadinOceanSprings,Mississippi,onNovember9,2012.
PhotographfromInstituteforMarineMammalStudies/Reuters
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Deadand sometimes mutilateddolphins have been turning up recently.
What'sBehindSpikeinGulfCoastDolphinAttacks?
missingpiecesofjawbonehavebeendiscoveredinrecentmonthsoffthe
shoresofAlabama,Florida,andTexas.Whilethegeneralmortalityratehasnot
increasedindolphins,scientistsandanimalrightsadvocatesarefindingan
unusualamountofevidencesuggestinghumanharmtotheanimals.
LastJune,forinstance,adolphinwasspottedswimminginPerdidoBay,near
theFloridaAlabamaborder,withascrewdriverstickingoutofitshead.Aday
laterthedolphinwasfounddeadinthewaterjustwestofDupont,Alabama.
SuchincidentspromptedNOAA'sOfficeofLawEnforcement(OLE)tolauncha
federalinvestigationlastNovemberintocrimesagainstdolphinsintheGulf.
Killingadolphinoranyothermarinemammalisafederalcrimepunishableby
upto$100,000infinesandayearinjail.
Becausethedolphinattackshaveoccurredsporadically,alongall1,680milesof
theGulfCoast,officialsdonotbelievetheyaretheworkof"onesinglemadman,"
asHumaneSocietyfielddirectorSharonYoungexplains."Itmaybecomforting
tothinkit'sonepersondoingthis,"shesays,"butitreallyisn't."
UnusualCruelty
Gettingtothereasonsbehindthesedeathsandinjuriesandpiecingtogetherthe
evidenceneededtoprosecutethoseresponsibleisprovingtricky.Atpresent,
differenttheoriesabound.
BrianKot,apostdoctoralmarineresearchscientistatTexasA&MUniversity,
describesthedolphinshootingsasa"thrillkill,"inwhichgunmenusethemarine
mammalsfortargetpractice.Asforthemaimings,Kotsuspectsthatsuch
incidentsalmostalwaysoccuraftertheanimalsarealreadydead.
"Marinemammalsoftengetclosetoboats,buttheydon'tcomeintocontact,"Kot
explained."Theonlywayapersoncouldstabamarineanimalisafterithas
died."
It'shardtoimaginewhyapersonwouldperformsuchacruelactonaninnocent
animal,evenifitwerealreadydead.Yetpsychologistsseeitallthetime,most
commonlyintheformofantisocialpersonalitydisorder(frequentlytermed
"sociopathy"),whichischaracterizedbyextremedisregardforthesafetyof
others.
HerbertNieburg,aConnecticutbasedclinicalpsychologistandconsultantfor
theFederalBureauofInvestigation(FBI),saidpatientswiththisdisorderoften
pursue"wantonthrillseeking"andgetapleasurablefeelingofpowerfrom
hurtingamorevulnerablecreature.
Notallpeoplewiththedisordercommitviolentcrimes,henotes.Butmostof
thosewhocommitthesekindsofactsespeciallychildrenwhorepeatedlyhurt
animalswilldevelopthedisorder.
RandallLockwood,seniorvicepresidentoftheForensicSciencesandAnti
CrueltyProjectsdepartmentattheAmericanSocietyforthePreventionofCruelty
toAnimals(ASPCA),says,"Oneofthethingsthatseemstounderliemost
intentionalanimalcrueltyandactsofabuseisaneedforpowerandcontrol.Alot
ofsevereanimalcruelty[comesfroman]absenceofempathy,andalsoasense
that[theperpetrators]havearighttodothesethings."
Inthecaseoftherecentattacksondolphins,Lockwoodadds,it'shardtoassess
thekillers'intentions.
TheHumaneSociety'sYoungsaysthatmanypeoplecollect"souvenirs"from
deaddolphins."Theymaytakeajawbonehomebecausetheythinkitiscool,"
shesays,addingthatsome"collectors"willcutofftheanimal'stail.
NoFriendofFishers
Mostdocumentedcasesofdolphinmutilationsandshootingscanbetracedback
tofishermen,thoughcrueltyisnottheirprimemotivator.
"Therehavebeenincidentsofdolphinsapproachingboatsand[raising]theireof
fishermen,whoshootattheminrevenge,"saysYoung.That"ire"stemsfrom
competitionforresources,withfishermenfearfuloflosingtheirhardearnedhaul
andprofittohungrydolphins.
Moreover,dolphinsoccasionallygetcaughtinthegearsofboats.Accordingtoa
NOAAanalysis,"Fishermenoftenmutilatethecarcassesofsmallcetaceansto
facilitatedisentanglement."
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AllisonGarrett,aNOAAspokesperson,saysthecasesinvolvingfisherspointtoa
largerissue:Manybeachgoersfeedthedolphins,whichconditionsthemto
associatehumanswithfood.Sincedolphinsareavidlearnersandteachers,they
passthatassociationontotheiryoung.
Soafishingboatcouldlook,toadolphin,likeaninvitationforfoodandsocial
interaction.ThismayleadtowhatNOAAofficialscallsa"brazenattempt,"in
whichdolphinsapproachaboatandpreyonthehookedbait,muchtoa
fisherman'schagrin.
TroubleFarandWide
SincetheDeepwaterHorizondisaster,officialsandscientistswhomonitorthe
effectsofoilonoceanlifehaveincreasedtheirmonitoringoftheGulfCoast.
Youngsaysthatmeans"therearemoreeyes"inthearea,andthusmorereports
ofharmbeingdonetodolphinsintheregionthoughnotnecessarilymore
actualcases.(Whilethenumberofdolphindeathssincethespillhasnearly
quintupled,theincreasehasbeenmostlyduetooildamage.)
SoonaftertheDeepwaterHorizonoilrigbegangushing,forinstance,NOAA
begantoemploysurveillancecameras,weeklyhelicopterflights,andbroad
aerialsurveystochecktheareaforstrandedmarinemammals.Beforethe
accident,suchworkwasseldomdonemeaningthelikelihoodoffindinga
stranded,maimed,ordeaddolphinwaslowbycomparison.
Ofcourse,keepingwatchdoesn'tmeanthatwildlifewillbekeptsafe.Alongthe
Californiacoast,marinemammalcrueltyhasbeenreportedforyears.
BillVanBonn,chiefveterinarianattheMarineMammalCenterinSausalito,
spendshisdaystreatingseals,sealions,porpoises,anddolphins.Inthepast
fouryears,hesays,dozensofhispatientshaveappearedwithgunshotwounds.
Onlyafewoftheseanimalswereeventuallyreleasedbackintothewild.Therest
diednaturallyincaptivityorwereeuthanizedbecauseofpermanentdamage
fromthewounds.
Thecenter'sdataindicatethatbetween2001and2011,about3percentofthe
5,000plussealionstreatedhadgunshotwounds.VanBonnsaystheanimals
heseesrepresentonlyasmallfractionofthemarinemammalsbeingtargeted
withweapons.Mostaresimplylostatsea.
AConcernBeyondCount
Indeed,theoceanswallowsupmuchoftheevidencethatwouldhelpauthorities
prosecutecrimesagainstmarinemammals.AllbuttwostateslandlockedNorth
andSouthDakotahavefeloniousanimalcrueltylawsagainstsuchacts.
Whileit'sknownthattheBPoilspillkilledmanydolphins,it'sunclearhowthe
U.S.dolphinpopulationisfaringingeneral.Theissueisoneoftracking:Thereis
nowaytoperformadolphinheadcountintheopenocean.Theonlytracking
doneintheUnitedStatesisthrough"strandingnetworks"thatmonitorbeached
dolphins.
Inthecoastalstates,regionalstrandingnetworksoverseenbyNOAA'sNational
MarineFisheriesServiceareresponsibleformuchofmarinemammal
protectionandserveasthefirstrespondersforbeachedmarinemammals.
Thesenetworks,composedmostlyofvolunteers,wereimplementedin1992as
partoftheMarineMammalHealthandStrandingResponseProgram.The
programwascreatedthroughanamendmenttotheMarineMammalProtection
Actof1972.
Witnesseswhofindabeacheddolphineithercontacttheirlocalstranding
networkdirectlyorcallthepolice,whothencontactthenetwork.Highlytrained
volunteersarethensenttothescenetoinvestigate.Dependingonwhatthey
find,thestrandedmammaliseitherhelpedbackintothewaterortransportedto
theclosestmarinemammalhospital.Iftheanimalisdeadwhentheyarrive,the
volunteersperformnecropsiesonsite.
Butstrandingscannottellusmuchaboutoveralldolphinnumbers,andinother
partsoftheworldstrandingnetworksarerare.Additionally,differentlawsapply
todifferentshores.Whilemostoftheworldhascondemneddolphindrive
huntingapracticeinwhichhuntersuseboatsandnetstotrap,surround,and
drivedolphinsontoabeach,wheretheyarekilledforfoodorshippedto
aquariumstownssuchasTaijiinWakayama,Japan,stillpracticetheactivity
andseenocrueltyinit.Inothercountries,liketheUnitedStates,thepracticeis
consideredcruel.
More
Likewhales,dolphinsthatswiminU.S.watersaresafeguardedunderthe
MarineMammalProtectionAct,whichspecificallyforbidshumanharassmentof
dolphinsor,forthatmatter,anyinteractionwiththespecies.
HowYouCanHelp
SeveralagenciesincludingNOAA'sOLE,theWhaleandDolphinConservation
Society,andtheInstituteforMarineMammalStudiesareofferingrewardsfor
informationabouttherecentattacksalongtheGulfCoast.Reportscanbemade
anonymouslyonNOAA'shotline,andphotosofstrandedmarinemammalscan
besubmittedviaNOAA'sdownloadableiPhoneapp.
Thegoodnewsisthataprecedentexistsforcatchingandconvictingsuch
offenders.In2009,theNationalMarineFisheriesServicesuccessfully
prosecutedaFloridafisherforthrowingpipebombsatdolphinsafterawitness
reportedhim.Thefisherpleadedguilty,sayinghethrewthebombstoscare
dolphinsawayfromhisfishingline.
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