ATLANTA — An investigation into the mysterious killing of dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico is gaining momentum, with a federal agent now in charge of the case and a $30,000 reward for catching the killer or killers.
Since the summer, six dead dolphins have washed ashore with bullet wounds, severed fins and jaws, and stab wounds. The latest was a dolphin found off the coast of Mississippi with its lower jaw missing.
Whether the deaths were caused by the same group or person is not known, but federal investigators are turning to the public for help.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has called on fishermen and beachgoers to report any dead or injured dolphins. Forensic experts at the agency are testing the slugs removed from the animals to see whether they come from the same gun.
More than 700 dolphins have been found dead of various causes in the Gulf since February 2010. But scientists say that deliberate, violent deaths are rare.
“These are senseless, repugnant acts,” said Moby Solangi, the executive director of the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Gulfport, Miss. “These dolphins are mutilated in a way that no animal is in the wild.”
Rewards for clues that lead to an arrest have been offered by the marine institute, the California-based Animal Legal Defense Fund and Paul Watson, an early member of Greenpeace and an Animal Planet host.
The deaths have been spread across the coast. In June, a dolphin was found stabbed with a screwdriver in Alabama. The others have been shot in Louisiana and Mississippi over the past few months, the authorities say.
Under the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act, killing a dolphin is punishable by a fine of up to $100,000 and a year in jail.
Front Section, Pages 3 on 11/24/2012