A group of teenagers clicking pictures with a dolphin recently were going viral in India. With the help of those viral pics, forest officials traced the boys to locate the dolphin. It is reportedly a five-feet-long adult male dolphin, which was buried in a deep forest on Ghodbunder Road, before the boys spotted it. The teenagers allegedly found the mammal’s carcass near Thane creek, Mumbai. After investigating, officials speculate that it could be a fisherman who netted the dolphin, which landed in Bhayander fish market. Dead Dolphin Carcass Washes Ashore Versova Beach in Mumbai. 

It is illegal to sell dolphins, and those found, will have to face severe penalty. Scared that he could be arrested, the fisherman decided to bury it. It was then, when the four teenagers, found it and clicked selfies and videos with it, as reported by TOI. The body was sent to the State Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), Thane. Shakuntala Majumdar, SPCA official, was quoted in the same report as saying, “Forest officials found the dolphin and got it to us for the autopsy, but the carcass was decomposed.” The doctors further reported that they could not conclude the cause of death, but suspect it was caught by mistake. Grieving Mother Dolphin Carrying Dead Calf in Western Australia Goes Viral. 

“We couldn’t ascertain the cause of death… Usually when a dolphin is poached the blubber is removed, but here it was intact. Also, there weren’t signs of injury,” Dr Neha Shah, a veterinarian at Thane SPCA, was quoted in the same report. Again, the deputy chief conservator of forests confirmed that they did not find anything suspicious as yet, and will probe the teenagers who took the pictures.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 26, 2019 01:54 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).