will dolphins kick *&%?

[opalobsidian]

My husband and I just returned from diving off of Grand Turk a few weeks ago. We were just finishing up a dive when we heard the squeaky squeal of dolphins in the area, and then suddenly three appeared, with a pack of other divers close behind. One of the dolphin came ZOOMING in on my husband, quicker than we could think, turning away from hitting him at the very last instance!

It was a very cool undersea encounter, but it left me wondering if dolphins aren't a bit more aggressive than their reputation and their smiley face would have one believe. If it was any animal other than Flipper, like a dog or a deer, I would have thought he was threatening to kick some diver butt.

Has anyone had a seemingly less than friendly encounter with dolphins?

 

[H2Andy]

yeah, dolphins can get aggressive

there are reports of dolphin-on-dolphin assaults and (sadly) rape. they are not the "Flippers" the press makes them out to be, though they are amazing, intelligent animals. basically, they have a different "code of conduct," and some of that conduct is not acceptable by human standards.

also, there are reports of aggressive dolphins bumping into and harassing humans. bumping has been reported. so has biting. sometimes this is play gotten out of control, and sometimes it's the result of stress to the dolphin from a variety of reasons.

but if you get in the water with them, just remember they ARE a wild animal, and their behavior can get aggressive, unpredictably

 

[archman]

I've been "sexually harassed" by a juvenile bottlenose kept in a rehab tank, and some of my acqaintances have been roughed up a bit more. The worst was a deep hand laceration requiring stitches.

In the wild and even in *most* captive situations, dolphin-related injuries are extremely rare. "Mean" or more spirited captive dolphins aren't normally permitted to interact with the public. And usually those critters are just bored, ill, or overtly playful.

Now if you were a porpoise in UK waters, your *** would be grass if a pod of resident bottlenose spotted you. The evil uber-dolphins live in those waters.

Most scuba divers rarely encounter dolphins in the wild. Lucky you!

 

[lazyturtle]

There's a cool show from Discovery (I think, maybe national geograpic channel) that all about the lesser known agressive behavior of dolphins called 'the dark side of dolphins' (again I think; it's something similar). It shows them to be a agressive animals at times. I don't think thier agression is often taken out on humans, but you wouldn't want to be chased by a pack of divers either, would you?
Personally I've never had a bad dolphin encounter.

 

[Tigerman]

of course Dolph kicks ***.. Dolph Lundgren

 

[Crawl79]

I have to say my one unexpected encounter with dolphins left me thinking about how big and quick they were and how if they were having a bad day it could mean me having a very bad day. I did by no means harrass them as the visibility was low (diving near Rio de Janeiro) and they came to interact with us. I did reach out with my hands hoping one would decide to let me touch them but they only pased near my outstretched hand a few times effectively teasing me.

 

[Grounded]

Althought there is always a possibility the Dolphins will kick @ss, in all likelihood, they will be beaten badly.

I think it is fair to say that the Bears will not have an unpleasant ecounter with the Dolphins..

It is difficult to forget that the Dolphins were considered to be among the league's top teams heading into this season, though most observers long ago gave up hope that Miami would actually deliver on its immense promise. But the Dolphins do have talent, and coming off a restful bye week, there is reason to believe that they can strap it up for one game in a quest to beat an elite NFL team. The Bears are too good to allow it to happen, but in a trap game that precedes a big Sunday night contest against the Giants, look for them to sputter a bit more than usual before finally providing a knockout punch in the fourth quarter.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Bears 20, Dolphins 10

http://www.sportsnetwork.com

 

[K9trnr]

My husband and I just returned from diving off of Grand Turk a few weeks ago. We were just finishing up a dive when we heard the squeaky squeal of dolphins in the area, and then suddenly three appeared, with a pack of other divers close behind. One of the dolphin came ZOOMING in on my husband, quicker than we could think, turning away from hitting him at the very last instance!

It was a very cool undersea encounter, but it left me wondering if dolphins aren't a bit more aggressive than their reputation and their smiley face would have one believe. If it was any animal other than Flipper, like a dog or a deer, I would have thought he was threatening to kick some diver butt.

Has anyone had a seemingly less than friendly encounter with dolphins?

I've only run into dolphins in the wild once, and they quickly got bored and left the area. It was years ago, and I was told that DPVs keep them around a little longer because they get bored otherwise. As far as their aggressiveness, others have answered the question based on more experience than I have. Still, I would consider yourself lucky to have had the encounter. Has anyone ever read a news story titled "Dolphin Attacks Scuba Diver"? They're certainly capable, but I can't recall a story of a dolphin ever harming a diver or swimmer/snorkeler/surfer.

 

[Carribeandiver]

A few weeks back, I saw a piece on either National Geographic or Explorer about people who were badly bitten by Dolphins. In one case, this family was swimming when some dolphins appeared. of course, the parents and kids got excited and everyone jumped in the water. Suddenly, a dolphin bit the mom on the leg and would not let go. Dad finally wrestled her away and whisked her back on the boat. She required a ton of stitches and everyone wondered what happened.
It seems, another boat in relative proximity had two guys on it who were teasing the dolphins. Apparently, one got enough and decided he was attacking somebody.
Another case was a pool in one of those theme parks. People were standing in waist high water petting the dolphins when one decided to bite and hold onto one of the patrons. Attendants managed to get her out the pool but not before she sustained serious injuries and also needed a ton of stitches.
I tell ya, my policy of look at, photograph, admire and glare in wonder with no touching seems more and more like a good idea. The rule, I dont touch the wildlife and I dont want the wildlife touching me.

 

[DeputyDan]

If they so chose - a dolphin could kill a diver so fast - the diver would never see them coming.

Fortunately, thats not there tempermant.