August 16, 2006
Fashion No-No
BY: Andy Sharpless
I would be derelict in my oceans blogging duties were I not to mention “Scrappy” — the 10-year-old dolphin that was recently spotted in a speedo. I wish I had a picture to accompany this post, but I guess you’ll just have to use your imagination.
It’s the type of story any morning show would be happy to report on, but the truth is the speedo hindered Scrappy’s ability to hunt food and avoid predators. After at least 28 days of swimming in the suit, a team of volunteers, biologists, and veterinarians freed the underweight dolphin and found multiple shark bites and wounds on the creature. Don’t worry: Scrappy is expected to make a full recovery.
But you have to ask yourself what motivates people to rally and fight for the life of one dolphin, when so many others are needlessly killed every day. Such is the wonder of human nature.