Baby Dolphin Killed by A Crowd of Selfie Takers at The Beach

I love to take selfies and - as a lifestyle-tech blogger - I sometimes teach my friends how to take good self-portraits using their smartphones.

But there are many things that I love more than pointing a camera to my face and sharing my selfies on social media. One of which is my love for taking care of animals (I have two dogs) and for volunteering in efforts to protect wildlife and our environment.

So when I read this story on ABC while having dinner earlier, my stomach turned.

It's absolutely terrible and unfortunate. And it's something that could have been avoided if only the people in the area where it happened cared more about the animal than their desire to have an interesting selfie that they can show to their friends.

Dolphin Selfie

An environmental organization in Argentina has confirmed that a baby dolphin died after it was manhandled by a crowd of beachgoers in Buenos Aires.

The people clamored to take a selfie while holding the poor creature and then, passed it around until it became too weak out of water and ultimately died of trauma and dehydration before they could bring it back to the sea.

To quote ABC, "A Franciscana dolphin, one of the smallest dolphins in the world, was picked out of the ocean and paraded around by a man, so camera-wielding tourists could take a closer look at the helpless animal. The incident occurred [early in February 2016] at a Buenos Aires resort, where two dolphins were reportedly yanked out of the ocean."

A spokeswoman for Australia's arm of World Animal Protection condemned the selfish selfie takers and told the American news organization:

"At least one of these dolphins suffered a horrific, traumatic and utterly unnecessary death, for the sake of a few photographs. Wild animals are not toys or photo props. They should be appreciated - and left alone - in the wild where they belong. [...] This terribly unfortunate event is an example of the casual cruelty people can inflict when they use animals for entertainment purposes, without thinking of the animal's needs."

TP Friends, there's nothing wrong with taking selfies. However, when we start to harm other creatures and our own selves (physically or emotionally), or destroy our environment in our desire to get these shots, then it becomes wrong. Let's be responsible selfie takers.