A crowd milled on the beach of Santa Teresita, with their feet in the water.
The amazed looks, delighted children and adults, the frenzy of a postcard that became a sensation on social networks.
And, from hand to hand, a baby shark.
The video went viral in the last few hours and recalled a precedent that became a meme: the dolphin tragedy of 2016. But this time there was a savior.
The images were taken on
Saturday, January 13, in Santa Teresita
, the same spa town in the Partido de la Costa that made the news this summer for the crime of Tomás Tello.
"People crowded together thought someone was drowning, but no.
A baby shark appeared in Santa Teresita,"
described the user who uploaded one of the fragments that caused a sensation on Twitter.
Judging by the images, it would be a dogfish, a species that can measure two meters in length.
The copy of Santa Teresita, on the other hand, does not reach the subway.
The size aroused tenderness and fever among vacationers, dozens of people who wanted to touch it with their own hands and take a photo for their vacation album.
They walk a baby shark on the Atlantic Coast.
One of the most unusual situations is seen in a second video.
"Baby shark in Santa Teresita," reads the caption.
The protagonists are two young people, a
couple in love with water up to their ankles
.
They each take the animal with one hand and kiss each other
in front of the other bathers
, who harangue and record the moment for posterity.
And for social networks.
The montage is completed by a
third part
, contributed by TikTok user jonatanleguiza518, who located it in San Clemente del Tuyú.
It is a similar situation: the shark is passed from hand to hand, someone wants to return it to the water and another group grabs it by the tail and pulls it out of the sea.
Until an enraged woman
rescues him from the clutches of a man.
The rescuer takes off, jogs to the shore and throws him as if he were a bowling ball.
In its different versions, the video had thousands of views and comments, with the majority being indignant messages.
It reminded users of another case: that of the Santa Teresita dolphin, the tragedy that became a meme.
They walk a baby shark on the Atlantic Coast.
The baby dolphin that became a meme in Santa Teresita
It all happened in the same seaside resort town of La Costa.
It was in February 2016. First, photos circulated of a dolphin in the arms of tourists who paraded it around like a trophy and made room to appear in the photo with the animal.
Then the video appeared, which caused a stir.
The man who pulls the dolphin out of the water says it was dead.
Other bathers demand that he return it to the sea.
The crowd can do more: in the end, young people and adults carry it on their backs.
"We tried to resuscitate him with a man but his injuries were serious, he couldn't bear it. He was just a baby. An incredible animal, which had the bad luck to come across the worst species of mammals, which are humans," a woman explained at the time. who attended the scene.
The controversial photo of the dolphin in Santa Teresita, in February 2016.
The rumor reached the authorities.
Fundación Mundo Marino sent a team of rescuers, but when they arrived the specimen was no longer there.
It was never known if he was alive or not at the time of being pulled from the sea by tourists.
It mattered little on Twitter and Facebook.
From tragedy to meme there was a single step.
"The parable of the dolphin"
was defined by the writer, screenwriter and meme expert Juan Ruocco.
"Catching the attention of many Argentines can be lethal
," summarized the author of the book
Democracy in Danger?
.
In 2017 a similar episode occurred, this time in San Bernardo.
Again, it ended with the death of the mammal.
On that occasion, the Provincial Environmental Agency (OPDS) - which belongs to the government of the Province of Buenos Aires - had released a statement with instructions to act in these cases, in which they placed special emphasis on that people should not approach the animal.
In a situation of these characteristics, it is recommended to contact the so-called "Provincial Rescue Network" at 0221-425-3863 from Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or the Argentine Naval Prefecture at 106 24 hours a day.
And wait for trained personnel to arrive.