Dolphin luring swimmers off for sex
03 June, 2002 23:06 BST
LONDON (Reuters) - Swimmers have been warned to stay away from a sexually frustrated dolphin off a seaside resort after it tried to lure unwary humans out to sea in a bid to mate with them.
The Times newspaper said on Tuesday that the bottlenose dolphin, nicknamed Georges, had arrived off Weymouth, Dorset, about two months ago after following a trawler across the Channel.
"This dolphin does get very sexually aggressive. He has already attempted to mate with some divers," U.S. marine mammal expert Ric O'Barry told the paper.
"When dolphins get sexually excited, they try to isolate a swimmer, normally female. They do this by circling around the individual and gradually move them away from the beach, boat or crowd of people."
O'Barry said the dolphin, which weighs an estimated 400 lbs (180 kg), would get very excited and rough and try to mate with the swimmer, possibly causing them to drown.
The dolphin also has a fascination for boat propellers and has been injured several times. But it has resisted attempts to move to less-populated waters, the paper said.
Since his arrival at Weymouth, Georges has become a major attraction at the seaside resort with thousands of people taking to the sea in boats to watch him play.
http://www.reuters.co.uk/news_articl...toryID=1044216
