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A seaside town on the French coast has had to ban swimming along its beaches because of a particularly aggressive fishy visitor. And no, it isn't a shark – it is a very, very horny dolphin.
A 3-meter (10-foot) bottlenose nicknamed Zafar has spent the last few months frequenting the Bay of Brest (yes, really) in Landévennec, Brittany. In recent weeks, however, he has begun to display some, ahem, peculiar behaviors. According to local news reports, he has been rubbing himself against kayaks and small boats, preventing swimmers from returning to the shore, and even using his nose to force one unsuspecting woman out of the water and into the air.
While Zafar has been responsible for a few scares, no one has been hurt yet.
In response to his antics, the town's mayor Roger Lars has prohibited swimming and diving on the beach whenever Zafar is in the waters. Getting within 50 meters (165 feet) of the dolphin is banned outright.
Some have criticized the decision, calling it "excessive". A specialist in environmental law, Erwan Le Cornec told Ouest-France, Lars is attempting to make dolphins look like "almost ferocious beasts".
So, what's going on here?
Dolphins have interesting sex lives and appear to do the deed not only for reproductive purposes but for recreation and domination. In the past, these cetaceans have been observed engaging in homosexual behavior and masturbating (with a dead fish head, no less). There have even been stories of dolphins showing an attraction to humans – see the example of Margaret Howe Lovatt and a young male dolphin called Peter, which had a particularly tragic end.
As for Zafar, the situation is also rather sad. Elizabeth Hawkins, a lead researcher at Dolphin Research Australia, told The Washington Post this performance isn't actually all that unusual for a dolphin in Zafar's position, essentially that of a "social outcast" who has for whatever reason been isolated from other dolphins and is now craving social involvement. This rubbing is his attempt to fulfill that urge, she added.
The ban is not just in the interest of potential human "victims" – it is what is best for Zafar, Hawkins says. That is because lone dolphins like Zafar are at risk of becoming too used to human contact, which can leave them extremely vulnerable to mistreatment at the hands of humans and other human-related hazards, including fishing boats. Hopefully, the implementation of the ban will help him regain his natural instincts.
The lesson here: Dolphins have a reputation for being friendly social creatures, but like all wild animals, it is probably best to leave them alone.
[H/T: Ouest-France; The Washington Post]
