• Email Us: [email protected]
  • Contact Us: +1 718 874 1545
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Medical Market Report

  • Home
  • All Reports
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Japan Sees Spate Of Dolphin Attacks – What’s Going On?

September 3, 2024 by Deborah Bloomfield

There’s something lurking in the peaceful waters off the coast of Fukui Prefecture, Japan – but it’s not the kraken, or a whirlpool, or even a shark. In fact, experts believe that the culprit behind a spate of attacks on humans in the area, leading to 18 injuries this year alone, is a single Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin. 

Advertisement

The Indo-Pacific bottlenose (Tursiops aduncus) is a large species of bottlenose dolphin with a long, slender beak and a tall dorsal fin. The males – which this individual is suspected to be – grow to around 2.7 meters (8.9 feet) and weigh in at a maximum 230 kilograms (507 pounds). They have quite a wide range and may be spotted as far afield as the oceans around Australia, to the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. 

Sightings of the species are not a rarity around the beaches of Fukui Prefecture, a region on Honshu Island’s Sea of Japan coast. And, though you might not immediately consider dolphins a menace to humans, dolphin-induced injuries have been increasing in frequency here over the past few years.

In 2022 and 2023, there were a number of reports of dolphin attacks, including one man who sustained several broken ribs when he was rammed and bitten as he swam about 5 meters (16 feet) from the shore of Suishohama Beach. 

This year, things have ramped up once again. Japanese news agency Kyodo News reported on August 26 that 18 people had sustained injuries over the summer, including a child who required 20-30 stitches. A man swimming off Mizushima Island was bitten on both hands, marking the second incident in as many days at that particular location. The situation has become so acute that that Tsuruga Coast Guard Office has taken to setting up warning posters, according to the Japan Times. 

But is this normal behavior for this species? And could one individual really be behind all these attacks?

Lonely dolphin (male, gray, Sea of Japan) seeks human playmate

“Gentle biting is a behavior that we see often among male bottlenose dolphins in the wild,” dolphin ecologist Tadamichi Morisaka told Nature News. “They do this to maintain the relationship – in this dolphin’s mind, he might have already built a friendly relationship with humans.”

So, it’s kind of… a compliment, then? 

“To me, he’s seeking some kind of interaction with people,” Morisaka continued. “If he really wanted to attack, he could have come tackling at full force and chomped down.” 

As well as being the brainboxes of the ocean – they can even use shells and sponges as tools – Indo-Pacific bottlenoses are known to be highly social animals. They live in pods of around five to 15 individuals on average, but some are much larger. Males, in particular, form strong bonds or “alliances” with other males that can even last a lifetime. 

Advertisement

If these attacks on people really are being carried out by a lone individual, then, it might make sense that this super-sociable cetacean is just looking for a new friend. It hasn’t yet been definitively confirmed, but it does seem likely based on analysis of photos and videos that have been captured of some of the incidents. 

The big worry is that these kinds of human-dolphin interactions can get pretty ugly pretty quickly. 

Morisaka explained that “dolphins can start asserting dominance through aggressive behaviours such as tackling or mounting people,” which could even be likened to a road traffic accident. We’ve already had at least one report of broken bones in Fukui Prefecture, but thankfully nothing more serious or life-threatening.

In the long-term, Morisaka hopes to develop an acoustic early warning system that picks up dolphin echolocation and alerts any humans in the area to get back to dry land. Right now, the advice to beachgoers from the authorities is clear: if you see a dolphin, stay well away. 

Deborah Bloomfield
Deborah Bloomfield

Related posts:

  1. Cricket-NZ players reach Dubai after ‘specific, credible threat’ derailed Pakistan tour
  2. Facebook faces threat of huge fine in Russia over banned content -report
  3. Climate Crisis Is Leading To “Uncharted Territory Of Destruction,” Says New UN Report
  4. Zoo Solves Mystery Of How A Gibbon Kept Alone In Her Cage Gave Birth

Source Link: Japan Sees Spate Of Dolphin Attacks – What’s Going On?

Filed Under: News

Primary Sidebar

  • If Birds Are Dinosaurs, Why Are None As Big As T. Rexes?
  • Psychologists Demonstrate Illusion That Could Be Screwing Up Our Perception Of Time
  • Why Are So Many Enormous Roman Shoes Being Discovered At Hadrian’s Wall?
  • Scientists Think They’ve Pinpointed Structural Differences In Psychopaths’ Brains
  • We’ve Found Our Third-Ever Interstellar Visitor, Orcas Filmed Kissing (With Tongues) In The Wild, And Much More This Week
  • The “Eyes Of Clavius” Will Be Visible On The Moon Today, Thanks To Clair-Obscur Effect
  • Shockingly High Microplastic Levels Found On Remote Mediterranean Coral Reef Island
  • Interstellar Object, Cheesy Nightmares, And Smooching Orcas
  • World’s Largest Martian Meteorite Up For Auction Could Reach Whopping $2-4 Million
  • Kimalu The Beluga Whale Undergoes Pioneering Surgery And Becomes First Beluga To Survive General Aesthetic
  • The 1986 Soviet Space Mission That’s Never Been Repeated: Mir To Salyut And Back Again
  • Grisly Incident In Yellowstone National Park Shows Just How Dangerous This Vibrant Wilderness Can Be
  • Out Of All Greenhouse Gas Emitters On Earth, One US Organization Takes The Biscuit
  • Overly Ambitious Adder Attempts To Eat Hare 10 Times Its Mass In Gnarly Video
  • How Fast Does A Spacecraft Need To Go To Escape The Solar System?
  • President Trump’s Cuts To USAID Could Result In A “Staggering” 14 Million Avoidable Deaths By 2030
  • Dzo: Hybrids Beasts That Are Perfectly Crafted For Life On Earth’s Highest Mountains
  • “Rarest Event Ever” Had A Half-Life 1 Trillion Times Longer Than The Age Of The Universe – How Did We See It?
  • Meet The Bille, A Self-Righting Tetrahedron That Nobody Was Sure Could Exist
  • Neurogenesis Confirmed: Adult Brains Really Do Make New Hippocampal Neurons
  • Business
  • Health
  • News
  • Science
  • Technology
  • +1 718 874 1545
  • +91 78878 22626
  • [email protected]
Office Address
Prudour Pvt. Ltd. 420 Lexington Avenue Suite 300 New York City, NY 10170.

Powered by Prudour Network

Copyrights © 2025 · Medical Market Report. All Rights Reserved.

Go to mobile version