A lone dolphin is causing chaos in Japan’s coastal region, with 18 reported injuries from dolphin attacks near Mihama this year. The situation took a dire turn when a young child suffered severe finger injuries, requiring 20 stitches. Authorities are warning beachgoers about the threat, claiming that the dolphin’s sharp teeth can cause serious harm and even drag swimmers into deeper water. While dolphin attacks are rare, these mammals can become aggressive if they feel threatened.
Tadamichi Morisaka, a cetology professor at Mie University in Japan, observed that the bite marks found on a man’s fingers at the Mihama beach match with the pattern of a 2.5 meter long dolphin seen at the coast of Fukui province last year.
In a conversation with local media NHK, Morisaka said, “It is reasonable to assume that it is the same individual, as the wounds on the tail fin are similar to those of the dolphins seen off the coast last year, and it is rare for dolphins, which normally move in groups, to be alone for such a long time. They are not trying to injure people, but are using the dolphins’ way of communication with people,” BBC reported.
Ryoichi Matsubara, director of Echizen Matsushima Aquarium in Fukui, has gone through photos and videos of dolphin attacks from 2022 and 2023, as per The New York Times. He believes that the same male Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin might be behind recent incidents, although Matsubara is yet to see footage of a newer attack. According to his observation, the dolphin might be displaying mating behaviour. In the last 2 years, the mammal was seen trying to press its body against people. While they are usually calm, many of the attacks happened when people got too close or tried to touch the dolphin.
Dr Simon Allen, a biologist and principal investigator with the Shark Bay Dolphin Research project, said that “Bottlenose dolphins are highly social animals and this sociality can be expressed in very physical ways.”
“Just as in humans and other social animals, hormonal fluctuations, sexual frustration or the desire to dominate might drive the dolphin to injuring the people it interacts with. Since they are such powerful animals, this can lead to serious injury in humans,” he added.
In 1994, a dolphin, known as Tiao, in Brazil attacked two male swimmers who tried to ride it, due to which one lost their life, while another was injured. Before this incident, the same mamma was blamed for injuring at least 22 people.
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