Officials raise reward to $11K in dead pregnant dolphin case

WAVELAND, Miss. – Officials are increasing a reward offered in the shooting death of a pregnant dolphin that washed up on a Mississippi beach.

Stacey Horstman, Bottlenose Dolphin Conservation Coordinator with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Southeast, says the reward was raised on Monday to $11,500.

It had been at $6,500.

The reward is being offered by a combination of groups such as the Animal Welfare Institute and Lightkeepers.

NOAA is asking anyone who might have information about the case to reach out to them.

The dolphin was recovered on April 30. A necropsy performed later revealed it had been killed by a gunshot. A small calibre bullet was found in the dolphin’s lung.