An unscheduled visit from a bottlenose dolphin caused havoc for boaters
Boaters in Florida got the surprise of their lives when a 600lb dolphin jumped out of the water and landed on their boat. The full-grown male bottlenose dolphin hit a woman passenger as it came aboard, injuring her ankle, but then became stuck on deck.
Lt. Keith Perry from the Isles of Capri Fire and Rescue Department said the incident was the most bizarre he had ever responded to. “When we pulled up to the boat, it was three quarters full with water and had the biggest dolphin I had ever seen,” he said, “It was huge, it was a monster”.
The dolphin, which was promptly and inevitably nicknamed Flipper, was on the boat for about 20 minutes. “When he was stuck in the boat, he wasn’t doing anything to us, he wasn’t moving,” said Lt Perry, “It was almost like he knew he was stuck and that he had to rely on us to get out”.
It took 10 men to gently extract the dolphin using a rope wrapped with thick towels and lift it on to a flat board before releasing it back into the water.
