Dolphin injures swimmers in rare beach attack

One beachgoer suffered broken ribs and several others were assaulted by a rogue dolphin at a Japanese beach

A string of dolphin attacks was reported at a beach in Japan on Sunday. Four people fell victim to the assault including a man in his 60s, who was left with several broken ribs, after the normally friendly mammal chose to ram into him, according to local media.

The man was reportedly injured during an early morning swim when the dolphin began ramming him and even bit his hand. The incident took place just five meters offshore at the Suishohama beach in the town of Mihama, Fukui prefecture.

The victim, who was taken to the hospital, is one of the many guests, who flock to Mihama from neighboring Japanese provinces during the summer.

Local police said that three other individuals were injured at the same locations during the day, and the total number of dolphin attacks in Mihama, since wild dolphins showed up in May, has reached six. The authorities urged holidaymakers to keep a distance from the animals.

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In Japan, there was a spree of dolphin bite attacks last year at Koshino Beach, which is located near Fukui City, not far from Mihama. Those incidents occurred on the same weekend, and at least six such cases were reported in 2022, two of them on the same day.

Dolphins are not normally considered aggressive towards humans, but occasionally do attack. A female bottlenose dolphin nicknamed Dusty, who served for years as a mascot and a tourist attraction in Doolin, County Clare, Ireland attacked and injured two women in 2013.