The Lion's Den: Two dolphins were shot, stabbed and killed off the Florida coast. There's a $20,000 reward for answers

Wednesday, February 12, 2020

Two dolphins were shot, stabbed and killed off the Florida coast. There's a $20,000 reward for answers

(CNN)Two dolphins were found shot and stabbed within a week off the Florida coast, and authorities are now looking for whoever is responsible.

At least 29 dolphins have been stranded in the Southeast since 2002, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries, with four incidents just last year. There is evidence they were shot by guns or arrows or impaled with objects like fishing spears, NOAA Fisheries said in a news bulletin Tuesday.

Biologists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission discovered the first dolphin off of Naples late last week, according to NOAA Fisheries.

The dolphin died from what appears to be a bullet or sharp object wound, the bulletin said. That same week, Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge researchers found a dolphin with a bullet in its left side along Pensacola Beach.

And in May, NOAA officials found a deceased dolphin off Captiva Island with a fatal puncture wound to its head.

The story comes out on 2/12..the 43rd day