This article is from page 9 of the 2014-03-18 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 9 JPG
DUSTY the Dolphin has become jumpy and wary of human contact, following a number of high profile incidents with members of the public in Doolin last year.
Members of conservation group, Dolphin Day Ireland, spent the weekend in Doolin warning members of the public not to get in the water with Dusty. This follows a number of dangerous interactions with members of the public last year – with one person being hospitalised after swimming with the dolphin.
Vanessa Fagan-Vanhorn of Dolphin Day Ireland says that last year’s incidents have taken a toll on the Clare dolphin.
“She is definitely more jumpy and easier to startle then she used to be. The incidents of last summer do seem to have had an effect and her behaviour has changed. I was last swimming with her in October but I have been swimming with her in Doolin for more than eight years now,” she said.
“What was noticeable in October was when I put my hand into the water, she flinched. After a moment she recognised me from the camera that I bring with me and after that we swam together for two hours.”
Recent storms in Doolin have blown away all the warning signs, advising members of the public not to swim with Dusty. Dusty was not sighted in Doolin for a number weeks during the storms of January and February, leading to concerns that she might have left the area or been injured in the storms.
“Dusty has never left Doolin. She has been there right through the winter and through all the storm. I don’t think she will ever leave the area. She is very territorial and she has made it her home,” continued Mrs Fagan-Vanhorn.
“Really, people should sit on the rocks and enjoy watching her from there. It’s not that people want to cause her harm but they just don’t understand the species. People desperately want to have the experience of swimming with a dolphin and sometimes that gets the better of them.
“On a positive note there has been a big change in people’s understanding of dolphins, which is a result of last summer’s incidents. People seem to have more of an understanding that dolphins are wild animals.”