August the 4th, 2024 – A very strangely behaving Krk dolphin has aroused suspicion and a warning has been issued to swimmers in waters around the area.
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Blue World/Plavi Svijet Institute has issued a warning to swimmers about the odd behaviour of one Krk dolphin, which could be cause for concern.
“Swimmers, please be careful! On the island of Krk, a dolphin has been exhibiting some rather unusual behaviour – he’s hanging around in ports and allowing people to approach him. We’ve been following this individual dolphin for two years now and he at least appears to physically be in a good general condition. He shows no external signs of illness, he swims ad dives normally and he isn’t starving.
However, this particular individual is a solitary dolphin, separated from the rest of its species for unknown reasons. We must be aware that intense interaction with humans inevitably poses a risk for both dolphins and humans alike. Dolphins can transmit a number of serious and hard-to-treat diseases – zoonoses – to humans. These include tuberculosis, leptospirosis, and so on. Equally, during close interactions, humans can transmit diseases to the dolphin population that can cause the death of a large number of these animals. Therefore, swimming with them, and especially touching them, should definitely be avoided!
Dolphins are strictly protected animals and it is forbidden to disturb them (this includes attempts to feed, swim, touch or chase them). Therefore, we’d like to invite you to: Not try to come into direct contact with the dolphins, not try to offer dolphins food, observe the dolphins from a safe distance and follow their behaviour. Please never chase dolphins (do not approach them by boat or when swimming)”, says the Institute.
