A female tourist dragged a swan from a lake in Macedonia in order to pose up for a photograph, before leaving it to die on the beach.

The woman, reportedly from Bulgaria, grabbed the unsuspecting swan by the wing and dragged it onto the pebble-strewn shoreline of Lake Ohrid, south-western Macedonia.

When the unidentified tourist had gotten her selfie snap, she abandoned the swan, which later died on the beach of Lake Ohrid, local media reports.

Shocked witnesses have described how the swan did not react to the woman walking up to it, as they are used to the presence of tourists visiting the town of Ohrid, which shares the lake's name. 

Photographs show the woman dressed in jeans and a black coat, grabbing the swan by the wing and dragging it out of the water.

Despite the visibly distressed swan clearly fighting to be freed, the unidentified woman is smiling for the camera. 

Witnesses said the swan 'remained motionless on the beach after the encounter', and later died, Macedonia Online reports.

The incident was reported in Macedonian news less than two weeks after the shocking incident in where a baby dolphin died in Argentina, while beach-goers passed it around for selfies.

The baby La Plata dolphin was found by a group of tourists in the Argentine beach resort of Santa Teresita in the north-eastern Buenos Aires Province.

Instead of helping the dolphin back into the sea, dozens of people crowded round to look at the squirming calf as they strained to touch it, and have their photos taken with it.

The La Plata dolphin - which can live to be twenty years old - later died of suspected dehydration after being paraded around like a trophy and stroked by the tourists.

The images from the incident, including it's final moments, abandoned on the sand as people continued to take pictures, caused global outrage when they emerged last month.

 We need to protect these animals from being endangered and killed by these thoughtless and heartless people. We, the People, cannot stand by and let this happen - let's pass some laws to protect these innocent beings and punish the culprits!