--- description: At least one dolphin died after beachgoers in Argentina scrambled to hold the animal and take a selfie while it was out of the water title: This Dolphin Died Because Beachgoers Wanted a Selfie image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Argentina](/tag/argentina/) ## Argentina Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # This Dolphin Died Because Beachgoers Wanted a Selfie  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Feb 18, 2016 2:12 PM CUT  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Feb 18, 2016 2:12 PM CUT At least one dolphin died this month after beachgoers in Argentina scrambled to hold the animal and take a selfie while it was out of the water, a wildlife foundation [said this week](http://www.vidasilvestre.org.ar/sala%5Fredaccion/?14420/Delfines-franciscanas-cada-uno-cuenta "undefined"). Argentina’s Wildlife Foundation warned this week that the animal belongs to a rare subset of dolphins found only in the waters off of Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. Dolphins of this type, at around five feet long, can be easily held and carried by humans. The statement from the Wildlife Foundation condemned photos posted on Facebook showing a crowd of people in beach attire clamoring to hold the animal while its out of the water. The story has attracted [international](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/endangered-dolphin-dies-in-argentina-after-beach-goers-pass-it-around-for-photos-a6881286.html "undefined") [attention](http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-18/baby-dolphin-killed-by-crowd-of-beachgoers-in-argentina/7182070 "undefined") and prompted calls of anger from animal rights activists. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4228838/dolphin-selfie-death/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4228838/dolphin-selfie-death/"},"headline":"This Dolphin Died Because Beachgoers Wanted a Selfie","datePublished":"2016-02-18T14:12:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T15:11:05.788Z","description":"The story has prompted angry calls from animal rights activists","url":"https://time.com/4228838/dolphin-selfie-death/","keywords":["Argentina","animals"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/argentina/","name":"Argentina"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4228838/dolphin-selfie-death/","name":"This Dolphin Died Because Beachgoers Wanted a Selfie"}}]}] ```