It's just like Jaws, except that instead of a fictional story, it's real. And instead of a shark, it's a dolphin. And instead of killing and eating people, it wants to have sex with them. But apart from that, it's just like Jaws. As you can see in the video below:
Just like they close the beach of Amity Island in that movie, the French town of Landevennec has banned swimming and diving from its beaches and warned holiday makers to keep their distance whenever the randy mammal is spotted in local waters.
That's because the horny 10 foot long dolphin - whose name is Zafar - has been rubbing himself against boats and bathers. And while the creature means well, it could pose a risk to swimmers, hence the ban.
Sami Hassani, a marine mammal specialist at the Oceanopolis sea park, said the dolphin could accidentally cause 'serious injuries' with its tail fin. That's not a euphemism, by the way. As a result, the town's mayor, Roger Lars, brought in the ban.
"I issued the decree to ensure safety," he said when talking to local newspaper Ouest France. "Several bathers were really afraid - he even lifted up a woman bather with his snout."
Advert
It's not quite the same as chomping them up with a mouthful of vicious teeth, but it's close enough.
But the mayor's ban has run into some legal difficulties, and lawyer Erwan Le Cornec is planning to file a petition to overturn the ban on the grounds of administrative over-reach.
"How many accidents involving a dolphin and a human have occurred in the region of Finistere since the two species have lived side-by-side?' he asked, speaking to AFP. "None."
'With this decree," he continued, "the mayor is trying to make out that the dolphin is almost like a ferocious beast, something that is completely unpredictable, able to drown people."
'How many accidents involving a dolphin and a human have occurred in the region of Finistere since the two species have lived side-by-side?' he asked scornfully. 'None.'
He said the mayor's ban 'will overturn the rightly positive approach that people have towards dolphins into a fear of these intelligent animals'.
Which - again - is a bit like Jaws. Because while sharks can indeed attack people, the levels of hysteria produced by the film gave sharks a bad name and reputation that's largely unjust but which remains to this day.
Advert
Topics: News, France, Weird, Animals, dolphin