logo
Decapitated Dolphin in North Carolina Prompts $20,000 Reward Offer From U.S.

Decapitated Dolphin in North Carolina Prompts $20,000 Reward Offer From U.S.

New York Times15-05-2025
The federal authorities want to know who decapitated a dolphin that had been stranded on an island off the coast of North Carolina last month, and they are offering a reward of up to $20,000 for information that could help them find out.
The 8-foot long bottlenose dolphin was found dead on Lea-Hutaff Island, N.C., on April 15, according to a statement from the Office of Law Enforcement of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The reward notice included a photo of the dolphin, which was missing its head, as it lay on the shore of the remote, undeveloped barrier island, which is north of Wilmington, N.C., and only accessible by boat, the agency said.
Officials from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, which partners with NOAA to respond to dolphin strandings in the region, said that they determined that someone intentionally removed the dolphin's head after it had been stranded on the island.
The agency noted that the dolphin was carrying Brucella, a bacteria that causes the infectious disease brucellosis, which can be transferred to humans through direct contact. Symptoms of the disease include headaches, fever, sweating and generally feeling badly or malaise, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Officials performed a necropsy, an animal autopsy, and the results and cause of death were pending.
Dolphins are not listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act, but they are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which bans harassing, hunting, killing or feeding wild dolphins. Violations can lead to fines up to $100,000 and up to one year in jail.
Officials said that anyone with information about the Lea-Hutaff Island's dolphin should call the NOAA Enforcement Hotline at (800) 853-1964. People can leave tips anonymously, but to be eligible for the reward, they must include their name and contact information.
The agency has previously offered rewards to the public for information about dolphins that appeared to have been killed. Last year, it offered up to a $20,000 reward in exchange for information to find the person who they believe fatally shot a juvenile dolphin at a beach in Louisiana.
And in 2020, the federal authorities offered a reward after two dead dolphins that were found with gunshot or stab wounds in Florida.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Northern Lights Could Be Visible From These 8 States Sunday Night
Northern Lights Could Be Visible From These 8 States Sunday Night

Forbes

time10 hours ago

  • Forbes

Northern Lights Could Be Visible From These 8 States Sunday Night

The northern lights have a moderate chance to appear for viewers in the northern United States on Sunday night, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted, coinciding with meteor showers potentially visible in the summer night skies. The aurora visible over Fairbanks, Alaska in March. Anadolu via Getty Images Forecasters at NOAA issued a Kp index of three out of nine for Sunday night, meaning the aurora could become 'brighter' with 'more auroral activity (motion and formations).' The aurora was likely much more active Saturday night due to the presence of a geomagnetic storm, NOAA said, but several states in the Upper Midwest and Alaska could still see auroral activity on Sunday night. Meanwhile, the Piscis Austrinid meteor shower is expected to peak in the early morning hours of Monday morning. NOAA's viewing line for Sunday night. NOAA Much of the Upper Midwest is within Sunday night's viewing range, including North Dakota, parts of Montana, northern Minnesota and Wisconsin, and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Alaska has the potential for northern lights Sunday, as well. Small slivers of northeastern Washington and northern Idaho are also within the viewing range, according to NOAA. Between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., according to NOAA. The aurora is brightest and most active during the hours around midnight, according to forecasters. Viewers hoping to catch a glimpse of the northern lights should try to move toward the magnetic north pole and away from cities and other sources of light pollution. What Else Could I See Tonight? The aurora borealis coincides with several major meteor showers actively taking place in the summer skies, including the annual Perseid meteor shower that began on July 17, although that shower is not expected to peak until August. Stargazers could also catch a glimpse of the Piscis Austrinid meteor shower, which will peak overnight, or the Southern Delta Aquariids, which will peak Tuesday.

Michigan among states that could glimpse northern lights. See map
Michigan among states that could glimpse northern lights. See map

Yahoo

time16 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Michigan among states that could glimpse northern lights. See map

Much of Michigan could see the northern lights on July 26, according to NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) forecast. The northern lights, also known as the aurora borealis, may be visible in as many as 14 northern states tonight, according to NOAA's SWPC dashboard. According to NOAA, "view lines" Michiganders as far south as Grand Rapids, Lansing and Port Huron may be able to catch a glimpse of the shimmering lights in the night sky to the north. The lights could be overhead for people in parts of the Upper Peninsula. NOAA says a G1 geomagnetic storm, a worldwide disturbance of the Earth's magnetic field, is expected to produce a Kp rating of 5. Kp is an index used to indicate the severity of the global magnetic disturbances in near-Earth space, NOAA said. Kp ratings increase from zero to 9+. NOAA is predicting moderate and minor geomagnetic storm impacts. Some high latitude electrical systems could suffer damage, radios could be affected among other issues. When could the northern lights be visible? The northern lights could be visible in Michigan Saturday, July 26, according to SPWC. What are the northern lights? The northern lights, or aurora borealis, are waves of light created when the solar wind strikes the atmosphere, creating a display of moving lights in the night sky. Which states could see the northern lights? The NOAA says the red "view line" marks the southernmost extent where aurora might be seen on the northern horizon. While more than a dozen states have a chance to see the northern lights on July 26, Alaska has the greatest chance to see the spectacle, followed by parts of the following states: Idaho Michigan Washington Montana Wyoming North Dakota South Dakota Minnesota Wisconsin New York Vermont New Hampshire Maine Why do the northern lights have different colors? The color of the aurora depends on which gas is being excited by the electrons and on how much energy is being exchanged, NASA said. Oxygen emits either a greenish-yellow light (the most familiar color of the aurora) or a red light; nitrogen generally gives off a blue light. The oxygen and nitrogen molecules also emit ultraviolet light, which can only be detected by special cameras on satellites. This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Northern lights forecast: Michigan, other states could see aurora borealis July 26 Solve the daily Crossword

We've made sharks into monsters
We've made sharks into monsters

Washington Post

time19 hours ago

  • Washington Post

We've made sharks into monsters

Lindsay L. Graff is a shark researcher and PhD candidate in marine biology at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. There are few summer traditions more predictable than turning sharks into profit. Fifty years ago, on June 20, 1975, 'Jaws' established the template for the modern-day blockbuster, combining mass marketing and high-concept thrills that all but guarantee mega box-office returns. But the film's lasting power lies in how it transformed a relatively obscure marine predator into a cultural icon and villain that could be used for financial gain. Before 1975, sharks managed to lead inconspicuous existences that belied their ecological importance. Fear of sharks wasn't born with 'Jaws': Isolated incidents, such as the infamous 1916 attacks along the East Coast, had already stirred public alarm in coastal communities. It was easy to scale local anxiety into global panic. Transforming sharks into predatory monsters leverages the primal unease humans experience when we're reminded of our natural place within the food web. In a single summer, 'Jaws' distilled a subclass of hundreds of species, small and large, down to the singular, misleading moniker of 'man-eater.' After the summer of 1975, sharks became unforgettable — and extremely profitable. But half a century after 'Jaws,' the truth is clear: Humans are far deadlier to these animals than they are to us. Each year, we kill an estimated 100 million sharks, largely due to overfishing, where they are caught intentionally for finning or incidentally as bycatch. Sharks were the perfect monsters for an economy built on entertainment and fear — not facts. Their capability of causing traumatic harm to humans (47 people were bitten by sharks last year in unprovoked attacks) lent enough validity for the 'man-eating' label to stick, irrespective of the fact that the vast majority of shark species feed primarily on fish, squid, invertebrates and planktonic organisms. It was far easier to sell society on sharks' evil tendencies than it was to face the reality that you're statistically more likely to be killed by a grass-eating hippopotamus — or that there are more people bitten by squirrels in New York City each year than Americans injured by sharks. 'Squirrelnado' wouldn't have quite the same ring to it. The lack of research on and public understanding about sharks in the 1970s allowed them to become whatever Hollywood imagined. This fact can be heard in the remorse of 'Jaws' author Peter Benchley, who, after an encounter with a great white shark while diving in the Bahamas, penned an essay with his famous line: 'I couldn't write 'Jaws' today. The extensive new knowledge of sharks would make it impossible for me to create, in good conscience, a villain of the magnitude and malignity of the original.' Before science could dispel the myths, sharks had been cemented in the public's eye. The immense success of 'Jaws' sparked a wave of films, including sequels: 'Jaws 2' (1978), 'Jaws 3-D' (1983) and 'Jaws: The Revenge' (1987). Hollywood's interest exploded. Television networks followed suit. Discovery Channel aired the first Shark Week in July 1988, and it has since become a summer rite of passage. Shark Week leaned heavily into sensationalized storytelling of shark attacks and shark bite reenactments. It provided a space for viewers to face their growing galeophobia, however misguided, without leaving the comfort and safety of their living rooms. Today, Shark Week is the longest-running cable television programming event in history. As the scientific and public perception of sharks matured, driven by advances in marine science and public education, media channels adapted their content; sensationalized fearmongering was replaced with conservation-focused storytelling, and shark behavior was allowed to extend beyond the overused verbiage of 'lurking' and 'stalking.' Even as Hollywood maintained its fascination with the man-eater — not least of all in the series of six (six!) 'Sharknado' movies — National Geographic launched its own week of shark-focused TV in 2012, SharkFest, developing it into the multi-week TV event that it is today. SharkFest is marketed as a science-based, educational alternative to Discovery Channel's Shark Week, but the platform remained grounded in the same logic: that sharks are media assets designed to generate viewership. There remains an uneven balance between episodes of science and spectacle — each meant to appease an audience viewing these animals through a different lens. (Even the popular TV show 'Shark Tank,' which has nothing to do with these cartilaginous fishes, is meant to evoke in viewers the sense of business-focused, man-eating investors.) Recently, the commodification of sharks has reached digital platforms, such as Instagram and TikTok, where sharks fuel personal branding and ego. Platforms are flooded with influencers who disguise sharks as subjects of scientific curiosity and conservation, when in reality they are used as props to gain followers, views and personal clout. We are spammed with content from people recording themselves unsafely interacting with wild animals and sensationalizing shark encounters to feed a performative image of bravery or connection with nature. They are exploiting these animals like those before them did on our movie and TV screens, reducing 450 million years of evolution to a tool for engagement and sponsorships. Humans intentionally kill sharks for profit, selling their fins for shark fin soup or mounting them as trophies. Consequently, over one-third of shark and ray species are now threatened with global extinction. By contrast, between 2019 and 2023, there were just 64 unprovoked shark attacks, including six fatalities, per year on average. Most attacks occur when swimmers or surfers are mistaken for prey, such as seals. Sharks are important and worthy of conservation and research, and not because they generate profit. Without sharks, marine ecosystems can unravel, leading to population booms of prey species, degradation of habitats and a loss of biodiversity. Sharks matter — not for what they give us, but for what they are.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store