An overly friendly dolphin seen frolicking with swimmers at a Cornish harbour is displaying signs of 'sexual aggression' an expert has claimed.
Footage captured last week showed the bottlenose dolphin, known as Nick, coming just inches close to swimmers, appearing to be playing with them.
But while the scenes appear heart-warming and a rare sight, local experts are concerned for Nick’s welfare - and have said he could cause a tragedy.
Dan Jarvis, a Hayle resident and member of British Divers Marine Life Rescue, said while it’s easy to get swept up in the moment, Nick is still a wild animal and needs to be respected.
“The dolphin wasn’t necessarily in distress,” Mr Jarvis said, “but as it engaged with the group and got excitable, you could see it was becoming erratic, there was the potential for injury."
And now The Sun reports that TV naturalist Chris Packham has warned the sea creature could be dangerous.
He said: “Dolphins play with interesting things in the water and this can include people.
“They can get sexually aggressive and there is a chance this dolphin could be loved-up and confused. Imagine you got lost and ended up in the middle of a herd of elephants.
“It would be pretty confusing. That’s like Nick, surrounded by people — but dolphins are immensely powerful and therefore dangerous.”
It was previously reported that the dolphin had developed what’s known as a ‘social solitary’ where the animal prefers to flit around playing with people and boats, instead of moving in a pod of other dolphins.
Cornwall Live reports that previous sightings of this type of dolphin have injured people.
Nick had originally been spotted in the Isles of Scilly last year and then moved away for most of the past 12 months.
Having returned to Cornwall in recent weeks, Nick has made a few visits to Cornish harbours - including Newquay, St Ives, Carbis Bay, and then Hayle.
