Horror moment dolphin leaps to its death at notorious resort where animals are kept in tiny tanks just yards from ocean

THIS is the horrifying moment a dolphin leaps to its death during a family show with the ocean sat just yards away.

The clip shows a trio of dejected dolphins leaping out of the pool at the Barcelo Riviera Maya hotel near Cancún in Mexico - a resort notorious for keeping animals in small tanks.

The tank where the dolphins were held has been called "Latin America's smallest dolphin tank" by animal organisations who have called for a boycott of the Barcelo Riviera Maya in the past.

Traumatic footage shows parents and their kids looking on from the pool side as the dolphins perform.

One of the animals continues to get perilously close to a concrete bridge separating two small pools before tragic scenes unfold.

On the third leap, the dolphin closest to the bridge jumps out of the water and immediately smashes head first into the bridge.

The helpless animal, reportedly named Plata, then went lifeless as an instructor swam over to check on its condition.

Horrified onlookers held their hands to their heads as the trainer went over.

The dolphin was left slumped over the concrete with half of its body still in the water.

Philip Demers, UrgentSeas co-founder and executive director, has slammed the dolphin enclosure in the past.

He said: "Dolphins are wide ranging, emotionally complex, social animals that live their entire natural lives in large family pods.

"To see them separated from family and forced to perform for food in the most unsustainable, tiny tank is just heart-breaking.

"The dimensions of the tank offer no reprieve from the sun and the fact that it's a mere few meters from the ocean makes this entire situation more gut wrenching.

"Imagine seeing and smelling the ocean, a.k.a. freedom, while simultaneously being treated like jailed criminal.

"Shame on Hotel Barcelo. The dolphins deserve better."

UrgentSeas also says that two dolphins recently died at the hotel, only to be quickly replaced by others.

Animal rights organisations including Animal Heroes, Dolphin Freedom, Marea and Oceanos De Vida Libre have also slammed the resort after repeatedly calling for its closure.

The groups have reported the deaths of two dolphins in recent months.

In a joint statement they said: "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.

"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."

They added: "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."

The hotel has been open since 2019 and offers guests a chance to swim with the dolphins and watch them perform synchronised tricks.

Guests can swim with the dolphins at the resort and pay for "interaction programmes," according to the company's Tripadvisor page which also states it "does not meet animal welfare guidelines."

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

The Sun has contacted the hotel for comment.