The butchered remains of a dolphin have been found on a New Jersey beach, sparking a federal investigation.
The Marine Mammal Stranding Center said that authorities responded to a “disturbing call” regarding a sea creature’s “partial remains” on Loch Arbour Beach near Allen Avenue, Allenhurst, on Wednesday.
Authorities arrived on the scene to find the animal’s carcass had been buried in the sand.
The dolphin had been butchered and stripped down to the bone, with its flesh “completely removed with clean cuts from a sharp instrument, leaving only the head, dorsal fin and flukes,” the MMSC said.
All of the animal’s organs, except for its heart and lung, had been removed.
On the evening before the grim discovery, witnesses reported seeing a common dolphin “struggling in the surf” one block away from where the remains were later found, the MMSC said. The witnesses said the dolphin was able to “make it over to the sandbar” and swim back out to sea.
It is unclear if this is the same dolphin found on the beach the next day.
The dolphin’s remains have been taken to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center to be examined, while the NOAA Office of Law Enforcement is now investigating the incident.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call MMSC’s 24-hour hotline on (609) 266-0538
