A ritualistic serial killer has slaughtered at least seven dolphins on the Gulf coast of the US, triggering a major police hunt for the culprit before the birthing season starts.
Since the beginning of the year, seven dead and mutilated dolphin bodies have washed up on the Gulf coast of the US.
A leading scientist fears that they may have suffered at the hands of a deranged, ritualistic killer or killers.
One animal was found with a screwdriver embedded in its head, and others had been shot or butchered. Another was found with its jaw missing, and others had been stabbed or had their tails cut off.
Lt. Col. Claude Pittman, who patrols in the area of the killings for the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, said he hasn’t seen a dolphin shot in his 22 years of work. But these dolphin killings are making him fearful.
“You don’t know what type of person is doing this,” he said. “Would they carry it any further? I have no idea.”
There could be several motives for the slaughter. It might be someone who is a “thrill seeker,” or fishermen who found the dolphins interfering with their operations on the water.
Police on the hunt for dolphin serial killer fear they may be running out of time to prevent vulnerable new born calves from becoming the next victims.
The 120-mile stretch of coast from Louisiana in the west to Florida in the east is visited by about 5,000 dolphins, the largest population in the US. Over the next few weeks, pregnant females will be gathering in the area to birth, and the naive calves could be easy targets.
Dr Moby Solangi, lead biologist of the Marine Mammal Studies in Gulfport, Mississippi, hopes those responsible will be caught soon.
He said: “There is a sense of urgency. It is important that we find the person or persons perpetrating this heinous act.”
Solangi, who performed post-mortems on the slaughtered dolphins compared the cruelty inflicted to “having your pet dog’s neck sliced”.
He said: “I don’t understand what sort of person would do such a cruel act. “It looks like somebody is deranged. It’s really senseless. It’s repugnant. It’s illegal.
“This is gruesome. It’s not only killing them, it’s also mutilating them. And the parts that are taken are not worth anything.”
To stop the slaughter before the dolphins’ birthing season, federal authorities say they need the public’s help.
“We need to have witnesses come forward. We need public input and information,” said Jeff Radonski, a deputy special agent for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is leading the hunt for the dolphin killer or killers.
The first dolphin was found January 8 with a bullet wound on Deer Island, near Biloxi, Mississippi. In June, a bottlenose dolphin was found in Perdido Bay, Florida, near the Florida-Alabama state line, with a screwdriver stuck in its head. In September, one was found on Elmers Island, Louisiana, with a gunshot wound. On October 10, a dolphin was found on the beach in Dauphin Island, Alabama with its fluke cut off.
On November 6, a dolphin was found in near Ocean Springs, Mississippi, dead from numerous cuts. Three days later two more were discovered; another one with bullet wounds near Ocean Springs, and one on Ship Island, a remote barrier island off Biloxi, Mississippi, that was found with its jaw cut off.