The discovery of two dead dolphins with grisly gunshot or stab wounds in Florida in recent weeks has prompted a plea for help by the federal authorities, who have offered a reward for information about whoever killed the animals.

Biologists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission found one male dolphin off Naples on Jan. 30, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries said on Wednesday. The dolphin died from what appeared to be a bullet or a sharp object, the agency said. A photo of the animal showed a large, deep gash in its snout.

That same week, workers for the Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge near Pensacola found another male dolphin with a bullet wound on its left side lying on the beach.

The deaths were “some of the worst cases we have seen,” Tracy Dunn, who oversees law enforcement for the southeast division of NOAA, said on Wednesday. “It’s very difficult to solve without the community coming forward.”