A well-known dolphin that was often fed illegally by boaters and washed up dead in Sarasota County last week was malnourished, a necropsy found.
Scientists said the dolphin, named Beggar, had a close association with humans, and that it was his trust of humans that damaged his health, according to the Tampa Bay Times. They said broken ribs and old gash wounds indicated encounters with boat propellers. Fish hooks and squid beaks, which are sometimes used by fisherman as bait, were found in his stomach.
Beggar, whose decomposed body was found near the Albee Road Bridge in South Sarasota County last Friday, weighed about 300 pounds rather than the expected weight of about 490. He had stomach ulcers and internal injuries from two stingray barbs, authorities at Mote Marine Laboratory told the Times.
True to his name, Beggar was something of a local tourist attraction. He approached almost every passing boat, stuck his head out of the water and begged for food.
Thousands of people fed him - everything from shrimp to hot dogs to pretzels. Even beer.
"All of these things indicate that he was spending more time attempting to get food from humans than foraging on his own," Gretchen Lovewell, manager of Mote's Stranding Investigations Program, told the Times.
Beggar was estimated to be between 25 and 35 years old. Some male dolphins have lived to 50.
He was not friendly. He bit dozens of people who tried to feed him and severely injured a woman who tried to swim with him.