A HEARTBREAKING image has emerged of a dolphin named Moon carrying her dead calf through the water after it became tangled in a crab pot.

The horrifying picture, which was captured in Perth’s Claremont Bay, was shared on Facebook by Western Australia’s Parks and Wildlife on Tuesday.

“A sad outcome for one of the Swan Canning Riverpark’s new dolphin calves,” the post read.

“Mother Moon was swimming alongside the calf when the pair was located by the Parks and Wildlife Service on Monday after being reported by a member of the public.

“The dead calf has since been freed from the crab pot, but remains in the water with the mother dolphin as she grieves.

“Dolphins are highly intelligent creatures and are known to stay with their young for a period of time following a death.

“We will continue to monitor the pair and remove the calf when appropriate to do so. We ask the public to stay well away from the dolphin and her dead calf during this time.”

Social media users were left shattered by the image, with some people struggling to look at the picture.

“Terrible and so sad. We should clean up our waste all the time. Then this wouldn’t happen,” one person said. (SD-Agencies)