Heartbreaking footage shows 'hunted' dolphin pleading for help

Richard O'Barry, Founder and Director of the Dolphin Project, along with other Dolphin Project Cove Monitors, observed 12 Risso's dolphins being slaughtered, making this the first successful drive of the 2015/2016 hunting season in Taiji, Japan. Seven boats in drive formation push a pod of dolphins into a cove, where three hours later they become exhausted and panic-stricken, sealed off from the open ocean. In desperation, the pod attempted to flee towards the beach, swimming under the nets to escape. As Ric and his crew stood on the shoreline, a female Risso's dolphin beached itself in front of them, just a few feet away from where Ric was standing. Despite efforts to return the dolphin to deeper water, she died from the stress of the drive.

In one of the most brutal moments observed by O'Barry, who has been visiting the cove for the past 13 years, the dolphin began to bang her head against the rocks and thrash around, suffering from what is known as "capture myopathy" or shock.

"This was the closest I have ever come to jumping in the water" Ric said. "Had we jumped in, we'd have been arrested immediately for conspiracy to disrupt commerce. Our video, computers, cameras - everything would have been confiscated."

Dolphin Project Cove Monitors are on the ground in Taiji throughout the entire killing season to document and disseminate information to the rest of the world.Ric O'Barry's Dolphin Project is a non-profit charitable organization, dedicated to the welfare and protection of dolphins worldwide.