Blue World Institute Warns After Incident with Dolphin Oliver: 'The Next One Could End Much Worse'
A lone dolphin in the Novigrad Sea pushed a swimmer underwater, and experts remind of deadly cases worldwide, urging bathers to avoid any contact.
A lone dolphin in the Novigrad Sea pushed a swimmer underwater, and experts remind of deadly cases worldwide, urging bathers to avoid any contact.
Disturbing footage from the Novigrad Sea has spread across social media showing a bottlenose dolphin named Oliver circling a swimmer and pushing him underwater. Fortunately, the incident ended without injuries, but the Blue World Institute from Lošinj clearly states that such an outcome was pure luck and that the next encounter could have far more serious consequences.
"Fortunately, the swimmer was not injured, but the incident passed without serious consequences solely due to fortunate circumstances," the Blue World Institute announced. They added that they have also received reports of cases in which Oliver pushed swimmers away from the shore, giving the impression that he was preventing them from leaving the water.
Such behavior is characteristic of lone dolphins that have become accustomed to human company. The Institute explains the psychological background of these interactions. "The animal does not want to be alone, so when people who were near it try to leave, it may try to prevent them by blocking their path to the shore or driving them further out to sea," they stated. In such a situation, a person who is already tired or has swum farther than planned has very little room for a safe reaction.
The Institute therefore reiterates its appeal to bathers not to initiate interaction with Oliver and to move away immediately if he approaches. They warn that any further contact increases the risk of new incidents with potentially much more severe consequences. Adult bottlenose dolphins weigh more than 200 kilograms, and a blow from the snout or tail fin, as well as scratches from teeth, can cause serious injuries to humans. Dolphins use such physical contact in rough play among themselves, but also as a response to behavior they perceive as threatening or unpleasant.
The Institute reminds that similar cases worldwide have not always ended harmlessly. In Brazil, a lone male bottlenose dolphin named Tião, during the period from August to December 1994, frequently approached bathers in Caraguatatuba. After people touched him, grabbed his fins, hit him, jumped on him, and some even tried to push wooden sticks into his blowhole, he became aggressive. As a result, around 29 people ended up in the hospital with minor injuries.
The most tragic outcome occurred in December 1994. "In December 1994, he forcefully struck a 30-year-old swimmer who died a few hours later from internal bleeding caused by a ruptured stomach. Tião was 2.6 meters long, so he was not larger than the bottlenose dolphins living in the Adriatic," the Blue World Institute pointed out.
Another case occurred in August 2025 in Lyme Bay, England, where kayakers rescued two women after a lone bottlenose dolphin named Reggie jumped on their backs and repeatedly pushed their heads underwater. "These are extreme cases, but the first contacts people had with both of those dolphins were very similar to Oliver's current behavior, which still shows no signs of open aggression," the Institute stated.
The Blue World Institute also warns of another dimension of the problem. Negative interactions not only pose a risk to humans but can also provoke hostile public sentiment toward the animal, which may lead individuals to try to harm it or seek revenge. Therefore, avoiding contact is crucial for the safety of both bathers and the dolphin itself.
