Officials in central Japan report that four swimmers have been injured in dolphin attacks at Suishohama beach in the town of Mihama, Fukui prefecture, on July 16.
One man in his 60s suffered broken ribs and hand bites when a dolphin rammed him a few meters off the beach early on Sunday. Another man in his 40s sustained arm bites in a separate incident on the same morning. Two more people were injured by dolphins later in the day. Fukui has now witnessed six such attacks this year, according to local police.
To prevent further incidents, warning signs have been placed to advise swimmers against approaching or touching the mammals. While dolphins are generally not aggressive towards humans, instances of hostility towards swimmers have been recorded. Scientists believe that wild bottlenose dolphins find swimming alongside humans stressful, which can disrupt their normal behavioral routines.
These incidents are not isolated, as other regions have also reported aggressive dolphin behavior. In the Republic of Ireland, two women were injured by the same dolphin in 2013, and a year later, five swimmers were aggressively encircled off the Irish coast by another dolphin.
Follow Daryo's official Instagram and Threads pages to keep up to date on world news.
Comments (0)