JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A local boater made a startling discovery while out on the St.Johns River Sunday.
Mark Alvarez said he came across dolphin and manatee carcasses scattered on an island.
“We were riding through the St.Johns and pulled up on an island shore, and we had a strong odor we smelled so we went up on land," he said.
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According to Alvarez vultures led them to the remains.
“There were probably five manatee and five dolphin carcasses that all looked like somebody dumped there. We’re not sure how they got there though,” he explained.
Alvarez sent the pictures to the Action News Jax newsroom.
On Monday, Action News Jax’s Beth Rousseau went on the water trying to figure out why the animal skeletons were on the island.
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Rousseau found the bones and a sign on the island posted by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
A spokesperson for the agency explained the area is used for research.
In a statement she said:
Animals are taken by biologists to a location on private property. The property owner allows FWC to access and use the area to perform necropsies to determine the cause of death and to support educational opportunities about the species. The area is marked with signs and is behind a locked gate. Trespassing is not allowed. No live animals are taken to this location. Once the necropsy is performed, the animals decompose and then are buried.
Alvarez said, “That could be traumatizing for a kid to see that.”
He told Action News Jax he will avoid the area in the future.
Cox Media Group
