Horrifying moment dolphin dies after leaping out of a pool at Mexican resort and smashing down into concrete floor

This is the horrifying moment a dolphin died after leaping out of a pool at a Mexican resort and smashing down into the concrete floor. 

Footage filmed by a tourist shows a group of dolphins jumping out of the water in sync during a show at the Barcelo Riviera Maya hotel in Mexico in January.

But one of them can be seen missing the mark and hitting a narrow sliver of concrete separating the big pool from a smaller one as the crowd gasped in shock. 

The dolphin appeared lifeless as it lied by the side of the pool, with a trainer rushing over to check on the marine mammal.

Some of the other dolphins then emerged from the water, appearing to check on their pod mate.

The dolphin’s horrifying death during a show has caused outrage, with animal rights organisations including Animal Heroes, Dolphin Freedom, Marea and Oceanos De Vida Libre announcing its death in a joint statement.

‘For a year now, the organisations Animal Heroes, Dolphin Freedom, Marea, and Oceanos De Vida Libre have maintained a permanent campaign demanding the closure of this dolphinarium, which is one of the smallest in Mexico,’ they said.

‘We have delivered letters to both Barcelo in Playa del Carmen and in Mexico City, as well as letters from schoolchildren in Baja California pleading for an end to the exploitation of dolphins, yet they have never been willing to receive us.’

This is the horrifying moment a dolphin died after leaping out of a pool at a Mexican resort and smashing down into the concrete floor

But one of them can be seen missing the mark and hitting a narrow sliver of concrete separating the big pool from a smaller one as the crowd gasped in shock

The statement continued: ‘In addition, we have exposed other tragedies, such as the deaths of the dolphins Alex and Plata in just one year, which were never properly investigated.

‘We have shown that the dolphin pool is smaller than those for humans, despite the fact that in the wild they swim vast distances and depths, that they have no shelter from the sun, and so on.’

Activist Phil Demers also shared the footage on his UrgentSeas social media accounts, telling Yahoo News on Saturday that the horrifying video of the dolphin smashing down into the concrete left him in ‘absolute shock’. 

‘This particular incident is one of the worst. It really, truly is. Even if it [had] survived, its health [would have been] severely compromised,’ he said.

‘It’s completely inexcusable, it’s something that never would happen in the wild. It just eliminates any rationale they should exist in these concrete tanks.’  

The dolphin appeared lifeless as it lied by the side of the pool, with a trainer rushing over to check on the marine mammal. Some of the other dolphins then emerged from the water, appearing to check on their pod mate

Footage filmed by a tourist shows a group of dolphins jumping out of the water in sync during a show at the Barcelo Riviera Maya hotel in Mexico in January 

Mr Demers previously published drone footage showing the concrete tanks at the Barcelo Riviera Maya hotel and said the dolphin jumping to its death showed that the tanks were too small and the dolphins should be removed.

The Barcelo Riviera Maya hotel in Mexico charges about £54 ($67) for dolphin ‘friendly’ encounters, which buys tourists the chance to shake a dolphin’s fin and hug it. 

For another £12 ($15), people are allowed to ride the marine mammals, Yahoo News reports.

The Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa) has opened an investigation.