Mote Marine laboratory reports a dolphin used to being fed by boaters was found dead on Friday in Sarasota.
Known as “Beggar” the bottlenose dolphin was the subject of numerous scientific papers and public education campaigns designed to help people learn that feeding and petting wild dolphins is bad for the animals.
It’s also illegal under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently prosecuted three such cases in Florida.
By feeding Beggar, people changed his behavior and put him at an increased risk from boat strikes. It also appeared that other dolphins learned similar “begging” behavior by watching him interact with humans.
“Compared to the other wild dolphins we study in Sarasota Bay, Beggar was not a healthy dolphin,” Dr. Katie McHugh of the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program said. “In addition to his unnatural feeding behavior, Beggar also had very limited social interactions with other dolphins and moved over an extremely small range when compared to most adult male dolphins.”
Learn how to view dolphins safely in the wild. Download dolphin-friendly viewing and fishing tips at www.mote.org/dolphinfriendly.
Watch a short public service announcement about what happens when you feed wild dolphins at http://www.dontfeedwilddolphins.org/