04 JUNE 02: THE LONELIEST
DOLPHIN

Georges, swimming with assorted
humans last month.

from CNN:

Amorous dolphin targeting swimmers

June 4, 2002 Posted: 8:04
AM EDT (1204 GMT)

WEYMOUTH, England — Swimmers
are being warned to stay away from a “sexually aggressive” dolphin that
has made its home at a popular tourist resort on the English south coast.

    Georges
the male bottlenose has become a tourist attraction since arriving in Weymouth
harbour, Dorset, in April. Thousands of people have gone out in boats to
watch him and swim with him.

    But the
10-year-old, 400 lbs (180 kg), dolphin became the cause for concern last
month when his behaviour suddenly became erratic.

    He appeared
to be trying to harm himself by swimming into boats’ propellers and began
showing an unhealthy interest in divers.

    Such
was the concern that Ric O’Barry, who worked as a trainer on the U.S. TV
show “Flipper,” was called in to try to get Georges to swim out to sea.

    But attempts
to lure Georges away from the busy harbour and return him to a secluded
area near Cherbourg, France, where it is thought he originated, failed.

    
Now experts have warned swimmers to avoid him, the Press Association reports.

    O’Barry,
who works with the World Society for the Protection of Animals, said: “Georges’s
well-documented sexual aggression poses a real threat to the thousands
of swimmers who will be descending on Weymouth over the summer.”

    He told
the London-based Times newspaper: “This dolphin does get very sexually
aggressive. He has already attempted to mate with some divers.

    “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 would get very excited and rough before trying to mate
with a swimmer, possibly causing them to drown.

    The WSPA
wants to relocate Georges to France because it is illegal there for people
to swim or dive with a dolphin and it would be possible for a French group
of experts, the Cetacean study group, to continue monitoring him.