A bunch of swimmers in Salthill, Galway had to be rescued by lifeboat last night after an angry dolphin decided he didn't want them in the water.
Last night a group of swimmers in Salthill were rescued from the unwanted attention of an "intimidating" dolphin as they were enjoying an evening swim near the popular Blackrock diving tower, around 7.30 pm. Witnesses said that they saw the dolphin circling the group and hitting and budging them with his nose and tail as he did so, in an aggressive manner.
The swimmers were helped by a fishing vessel that spotted them in trouble and came in to try and move the dolphin away and get between the group and the animal, before the RNLI lifeboat eventually arrived to take them to safety.
A member of the Galway RNLI told The Irish Times that "the swimmers were very shook by the incident and one in particular was very shocked, but did not require medical assistance".
After making sure that all the swimmers made it safely to shore, the crew then went around to warn other swimmers that an agro dolphin had been spotted in the area, and was looking for trouble. This is not the first incident of dolphins getting aggressive that we've heard of this summer, as 'Dusty' or 'Sandy', a dolphin who has been spotted around the Aran Islands, has apparently injured five people already, so if you see a dolphin on your next swim, maybe give it a wide berth.
Via The Irish Times. Main pic via Wikipedia
