Dolphin jumps into boat, injures woman
Mar 13, 2011 7:13 PM EDT
ISLES OF CAPRI: Curiosity got the best of a 600 pound dolphin when it ended up in a boat off Isles of Capri Sunday.
Isles of Capri Fire Lieutenant Keith Perry says he answered a distress call on the Marco River just before 3:00 p.m.
The caller, a charter boat captain, said he needed help because a dolphin ended up in his boat.
Perry says, "There was a boat with a possible broken leg or leg injury, they weren't sure. And a dolphin aboard the vessel, which was pretty unusual."
Perry said the animal jumped out of the water and into the vessel, hitting Joann Lorek, who was on board. She suffered a sprained ankle.
"For me, it was horrifying. It was like, this is not really happening," Joann says.
The Isles of Capri Fire Department, Florida Fish and Wildlife and the Collier County Sheriff's Office responded to the incident.
Perry says using a rescue board meant for spinal injury patients, it took 10 men to lift the dolphin out of the boat and put it back into the water.
"He kinda just laid still and let us do our thing. He knew he was stuck and we were not trying to hurt him and just trying to get him into his surroundings," Perry said.
Experts say the blood visible on the dolphin's fin in the photos is from a superficial cut, similar to a human who had cut themselves shaving.
As for Joann, she's feeling lucky to have lived through a once-in-a-lifetime encounter with the wild, and happy to be able to get back out on the water where it happened so quickly.
She says, "We always feel blessed being down here. It's like you died and went to heaven, but seriously, I'm yeah, very, very, very fortunate."
NBC News
0 comments:
Post a Comment