Dolphins Are Attacking People And Breaking Their Bones
Dolphins may be cute and highly intelligent, but they’re still large wild animals at the end of the day, which means they can be dangerous. Futurism reported that there have been several attacks on humans by these sea creatures this year at Suishohama Beach, located on the Eastern coast of Japan. The most recent incident saw a man getting his hands bitten and his ribs broken while swimming.
This year several people at Japan’s Suishohama Beach have been attacked by dolphins, including a man whose ribs were broken in the encounter.
While dolphins being aggressive toward humans is rare, it’s certainly not unheard of. There have been a total of six attacks on that same beach this year, and it has prompted local officials to alert swimmers and urge them to avoid contact with or getting close to these animals. But why would they be attacking humans in the first place?
NOAA Fisheries reported that dolphins will typically bite humans if they’re angry or scared, and it has been reported that swimming alongside them can sometimes stress them out and cause them to lash out aggressively.
Feeding wild dolphins can also sometimes lead to this behavior, as they may get frustrated and aggressive when they don’t get the food that they’re expecting from humans. Generally, it’s best to avoid any encounters with wild ocean animals, whether they have a reputation for being friendly or not.
Orca Attacks
Dolphins aren’t the only large sea creatures that are acting strangely this summer, as there have been multiple reports of orcas (also members of the dolphin family) attacking boats off the coast of Spain.
The orcas have been spinning the boats around, breaking rudders, and even sinking boats on a few occasions. The incidents are isolated to the Iberian orca subspecies, and there have been a few theories as to why they’re doing it.
The two main theories are that the orcas are either playing or are mad at the boats due to negative past experiences. The former theory seems to be the prevailing and likelier answer, as most of the cases have been juvenile orcas.
Since overfishing has been cut down in the Iberian Peninsula, orcas spend less time looking for food, and the juveniles may be getting bored while waiting for their mothers to return from hunting, leading them to develop a new game that is probably fun for them and not so fun for boaters.
Unlike the dolphins, the orcas aren’t targeting humans specifically. While there have been some deaths of humans from captive orcas, there are no recorded cases of orcas killing humans in the wild. So it seems like you may be more likely to get a broken bone from a dolphin than you would from an orca unless you’re the size of a 12-meter boat.
Feeding wild dolphins can also sometimes lead to this behavior, as they may get frustrated and aggressive when they don’t get the food that they’re expecting from humans.
In any case, it’s best not to risk messing with dolphins if you see one in the wild. Keeping your distance will help ensure your safety and prevent the animal from getting irritated with you. Hopefully, more swimmers will be able to avoid some broken ribs in the future now that there are more people aware of the attacks that have already happened.
