Dolphin Mom Pushing Dead Calf A Reminder For Boaters To Take Care

SEMINOLE, FL -- Michael McCarthy, owner of the Seminole-based See Through Canoe Co., which specializes in guided gulf and river tours using McCarthy's patented, locally produced transparent canoes and kayaks, is well-known for sharing his videos of marine life.

His videos are regularly featured on national news networks and networks as well as international news organizations including National Geographic channel, USA Today, FOX, the BBC, Good Morning America, NBC and ABC.

Sometimes the videos are bizarre, like the time one of his see-through canoes got stuck on top of an alligator (3,650,000 views).

Others are fascinating like his recent video of a school of tarpon swimming in a clockwise circle off the coast of St. Petersburg or the dolphin chasing down his lunch (35 million views just on FOX's Facebook page).

And some are downright adorable like the videos of the sibling manatee calves, Tater Tot and Peanut, who love to swim beneath the watercraft and mash their faces against the transparent bottoms like children looking through the window of a toy store.

But few of McCarthy's videos have stirred the kind of emotional response as the image he captured with his camera-equipped drone on June 3.

Reluctant to let go of her baby, a mother dolphin is seen pushing her dead calf through the intracoastal waterway.

"It's hard to say for sure without examination, but the calf may have been hit by a boat," said McCarthy. "Please don't assume that because dolphins are fast that you won't hit them."

McCarthy said it was difficult to watch the scene, let alone videotape it.

"That image is going to be stuck in my head for a while," he said. "I saw a lot of boaters almost run over dolphin this past holiday weekend, so I'm not real surprised. Just saddened."

The video's been viewed more than 74,000 times on See Through Canoe's Twitter feed. But it's also been posted through Associated Press and countless other news outlets.

Related story: Sign It's A Bad Day: When Your Canoe Gets Stuck On A Gator's Back