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Aussie wildlife rangers on the hunt for "fashionable" dolphin

Xinhua, January 31, 2017 Adjust font size:

Western Australian wildlife rangers are on the search for a bottlenose dolphin photographed wearing a t-shirt, believing it to be a deliberate and potentially dangerous act by a person.

Rangers fear the material may suffocate the mammal by blocking its blow hole, and have been looking for the animal since Jan. 26 after a member of the public reported the sighting to Koombana Bay Dolphin Discovery Center, 170 km south of Perth.

The Department of Parks and Wildlife have gone public Tuesday to urge people to keep a look out for the animal so it can be treated.

"Dolphins are quite playful but it's unusual for them to be able to swim through something like that and get it sort of stuck," Western Australian Department of Parks and Wildlife officer Pia Courtis told the Australian Broadcasting Company.

"If it was done by somebody it's not great, and there are penalties under the Wildlife Conservation Act, the maximum penalty's about $4,000."

Authorities urge the public not to approach or touch dolphins. Endit