Florida teen allegedly killed a baby dolphin after taking it from water for Instagram selfie

The 19-year-old man from Florida, USA, took to social media to show off his “catch”.

He shared a picture of himself holding the baby dolphin in his arms after grabbing it out of the water – an act which can suffocate the marine animal.

But the teen, who has not been named, has defended his actions by calling the death an “accident”. He said that it was a “once-in-a-lifetime” photograph.

He later claimed that the one-year-old male calf was already dead when he found it under a bridge by the Nassau Sound near Jacksonville.

Marine biologists have since confirmed that the dolphin found dead on Wednesday was the same pictured with the teen in the widely shared snap.

The posts, which have since been deleted, sparked fury across the world.

A federal investigation into the incident is being taken out by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Committee [FWC] and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Multiple marine biologists have confirmed that the juvenile dolphin taken from the water for the photograph is the same one that was discovered dead days later.

Dr. Quincy Gibson of the University of North Florida’s Dolphin Research Program said you can tell it is the same animal from the creature’s dorsal fins.

“The shape matches the one in the photo where the dolphin’s being held,” Gibson told News4Jax, after being looped into the investigation by local wildlife officials.

Citing internal biology that renders dolphins susceptible to suffocation if removed from water, she said “everyone seems to be in agreement that it is and you can tell”.

She added that the photo taken by the teen – who would later defend his actions in an interview with the outlet – was almost certainly done so under the bridge where the dead baby dolphin was found shortly thereafter by a biologist.

A heartbreaking photo of the dolphin in the FWC report shows the marine animal bloated and bleeding from the mouth, which is part of the dolphin’s decomposition process, she said.

It is not clear if the dolphin was alive or dead in the photo, but Gibson said if it was alive at the time, it would not have been for much longer.

“I think it’s highly likely that it died after [the photo was taken], but there is a very small chance that it was deceased recently, when they picked it up in the water,” Dr. Gibson said.

“But based off of the reports that I’ve heard, and the photo and the way that the people are behaving in the photo, it makes it seem like they did catch it … and it was potentially alive at that point.”

The man at the centre of the controversy has reportedly defended his actions.

In response to one critic’s comment, he responded “what ever” adding it was a “once in a lifetime to catch a dolphin as bycatch from the shore,” according to a screenshot of the post shared by Kevin Beaugrand, who reported the photo to state officials.

“I was immediately enraged,” Beaugrand, a surfer, told News4JAX.

“It’s a crime against nature.”

In a statement to the outlet, the man claimed that the dolphin was already dead.

“We tried to see if it was still alive, or if we could revive it,” he said.

“There was nothing we could do.”

He has not yet been charged with a crime, although it is illegal to interfere with wild dolphins – even if they are dead – ender the USA’s Marine Mammal Protection Act.