Decapitated dolphin in North Carolina prompts $20,000 reward offer from US

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, North Carolina, 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, North Carolina, 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 [phone]. 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, federal authorities offered a reward after two dead dolphins were found with gunshot or stab wounds in Florida.