Idiotic tourists have ignored warnings to stay away from a viral bottlenose dolphin who could harm or even kill someone. Adults and young children were spotted surrounding the solitary male dolphin, who was officially named Reggie, despite serious calls to avoid the mammal for their own safety and his.
Reggie captured hearts when he joined swimmers for an early morning dip this month, having become a frequent sight in Lyme Bay, Dorset. He arrived at the area on his own in February, before suffering a nasty gash in July – an injury believed to have been caused by a boat propellor.
After footage of Reggie swimming with a family went viral, The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) held an emergency online event strictly warning people against contact wit the mammal. Meanwhile, UK marine conservation charity ORCA said someone could even be killed by the dolphin if it becomes aggressive.
But despite the warnings, new footage has emerged showing ignorant tourists paddling next to Reggie – with young children seen in the water while adults sit on their boards. Crowds of holidaymakers have flocked to the waters in recent weeks for a chance to get close to the dancing dolphin.
The new video, posted on Facebook, was captured on Friday evening and shows the animal circling around and swimming dangerously close to humans. One commenter on the video warned the dolphin is probably showing an increased interest in people due to hunger. ‘When animals become interested in us it normally means they are hungry and malnourished and in search of food,’ they wrote.
Liz Sandeman, co-founder of the Marine Connection Charity, previously warned the risk to humans will likely increase as Reggie continues to be surrounded by them. ‘This is the worst case of a dolphin becoming rapidly habituated to close human interaction in 20 years in the UK, with risks to the safety of the dolphin and people in the water with him likely increasing over time,’ she said.
Meanwhile, the MMO issued a similarly stark warning, telling the Mail the dolphin could already be habituated to humans – a change that ‘can be fatal’. Jess Churchill-Bissett, head of marine conservation (wildlife) at MMO, said: ‘Repeated human interaction inevitably disrupt their natural behaviours, increasing stress and potentially altering their temperament. Once habituated to humans, dolphins can lose their natural wariness, a change that can be fatal. This is something we could already be seeing in Lyme Bay.
The solitary bottlenose dolphin, believed to be a young male, has gone viral after adorable footage emerged of it excitedly playing with a family and asking for belly rubs in Lyme Bay, Dorset, on August 3. Marines Management Organisation shared concerns for the safety of the sea creatures and urged tourists to stay away from the animals in a recent Facebook post. The playful dolphin appeared to dance in the water as it performed for its awestruck audience.’
