Reggie, a dolphin that gained fame for interacting with swimmers on multiple recent occasions on the southern coast of England, “did not ask for belly rubbing” but also “did not try to drown people drowning,” according to an expert cited by The Guardian. Instead, incidents were seen as worrying changes in animal behavior estimated by human interaction.
What happened?
In August, reports arose about increasingly close encounters between the lonely male bottle nose and the people in boat or swimming in Lyme Bay, outside Dorset, the media detailed.
In a widely shared video of the beginning of August, Dolphin approached a family in a morning swimming, pushing them and emerging by his side in what seemed to be playful behavior.
Later in the month reports of a couple of Kayak brothers who intervened when the dolphin became “bustling” and pushed two women underwater while swimming.
Liz Sandeman, co -founder of the Marine Connection organization, dismissed with the explanations that Reggie was simply looking for “belly rubbing”, but also denied that the young mammal of approximately half a ton out to harm. Sandeman told The Guardian that the exaggeration around incidents was “the worst scenario I have seen for at least 25 years.”
“In the coming months it will become bigger. It will become powerful,” Sandeman said. “He really doesn’t know the damage he could be doing with us in the water … The situation is becoming dangerous for swimmers and dolphin.”
Why are changes in animal behavior with respect to?
When animals get used to people and begin to change their behaviors, they can affect human security, as well as the welfare of wildlife.
In Dorset, the United Kingdom’s marine management organization registered concern in May about “people who intentionally approach the animal too closely.”
Reggie, as Dolphin was nicknamed locally in the city of Lyme Regis, was first reported in the area in February, according to Dive magazine. It was marked by injuries attributed to ship’s propeller strikes, another danger to dolphins accustomed to human activities.
“Human interaction can cause dolphins to lose their natural caution, which causes injuries or even death,” the MMO wrote in a Facebook post. “It is also known that disturbed dolphins become aggressive with people.”
Swimming and navigation are not the only ways in which human activities are affecting animal behavior. In other places, marine animals have appeared in unexpected places, possibly due to changes in their oceanic environments. And scientists have studied whether orcs are changing their feeding patterns due to world temperature increases driven by people.
What is being done about changes in animals behavior?
In the United Kingdom, MMO has intensified its public warnings to avoid human interactions that drive changes in the behavior of dolphins.
He has reminded citizens of his marine and coastal wildlife code, which says how to act towards several species and legal protection details. This code is parallel to the guidelines and laws in the United States
“Remember,” said MMO’s recent Facebook post. “Never swim with, touch, feed or approach dolphins. If a dolphin approaches you, it comes out calmly from the area.”
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(Tagstotranslate) Animal behavior
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