10-year-old boy severely injured after hand bitten by dolphin at Fukui beach

In my country, dolphins swim with children and play freely.

I haven't heard of any attacks ever.

Are dolphins now considered dangerous, human-attacking animals?

Wild animals should never be thought of as gentle all the time. They are wild animals and behavior can be unpredictable. A large animal simply "toying" with a human can cause injury. We had the same attitude towards Orcas until recently when they started attacking boats possibly for "fun".

I used to see dolphins quite often when surfing. They've never showed aggression towards me or any other surfer. Maybe it'd be different if I were swimming?

I guess the child hit it or was being aggressive towards it. They don’t just bite. They are more intelligent than most people I meet.

Once a dolphin gets a taste for human flesh, it will not stop.

Yesterday I watched a great vid on Instagram that appeared in my feed where surfers in the north pacific were surfing next to many dolphins and having a great time, I don't know why these attacks are happening and I never heard of any back home, I hope that people don't change their minds and start thinking that dolphins are predators or aggressive bcz. they are NOT.

Marine Biologists needs to find out what is causing these dolphins to be aggressive assuming they are !!?

"child hit it or was being aggressive towards it. They don’t just bite."

Do a little search to see how wrong you are.

They do KILL people!

There's enough articles about it, search and you'll find them.

These animals learn and pass it on.

Orcas are now attacking boats off Portugal's coast; you tell the people inside those boats they shouldn't be scared because all the killer whales want is to play!

A female Lioness in Zambia (if I'm not wrong) has been found teaching lion cubs to attack only humans for humans are easy prey.

Once a dolphin gets a taste for human flesh, it will not stop.

How do you know that?

People shouldn't assume all dolphins everywhere behave the same.

No one should consider dolphins to be "gentle" animals. They can be very aggressive and vicious. Hard to imagine anyone seeing them differently.

@EvilGod

I think you made a great point. Dolphins are highly intelligent animals and not only able to sense the zones where their herds are more prone to danger but also to communicate amongst each other of such information. They may surely be more aggressive in one region over the other.

Do you know how many shark species attack people?

Do you know the difference between dolphins and whales?

Are the dolphins around you the same species as those in Japan?

In Japan, dolphins are considered pests that damage fixed nets, and in some areas they are regularly exterminated, which some people don't like, so I guess that's why they're critical.

When someone is attacked by a shark in Australia or elsewhere, it feels strange that the only opinions that are expressed are "poor thing" and "we should exterminate the sharks."

All animals can be dangerous, even a pet dog (though there are fewer incidents with domestic animals, of course). If it's in the wild, even in the water, so look, admire, and keep your distance. Animals have many different reason for attack. That's why in parks with animals like buffalos and elephants and others, I follow the rules and suggestions of the park. Besides, I'm scared of some wild animals.

@lunatic

Well, dolphins in Japan have learned humans hunt them and are dangerous, and behave accordingly in self-defense.

It is possible the dolphins have had contact with other humans and didn't understand why there wasn't food in his hand. Same for the Orcas with boats recently in Europe. The animals are accustomed to swimming and playing in the wakes of boats, and when a sailing or slow vessel doesn't have it they go after the rudder.

@konjo4u

Whale and dolphin tourism is mostly a Western and Southeast Asian thing, dolphins living there know humans do not mean harm to them and are known to even ask humans for help when they are in trouble.

But not dolphins in Japan. Dolphins appear to have languages of their own and and transfer knowledge amongst themselves, that humans are dangerous and harm them.

@リッチ

“I guess the child hit it or was being aggressive towards it. They don’t just bite. They are more intelligent than most people I meet.”

You guess but then make a bold statement claiming to know the habits of all wild dolphins. Don’t just assume something if you have zero facts to back it up. Wild animals, even domesticated ones, can be unpredictable at times. Do you also claim to know the behavioral traits of all humans?

Would it be out of the realms of possibility that dolphins in the seas around Japan label humans as aggressive?

the main thing is that this dolphin is not killed later

Orcas attacking boats, dolphin attacks on humans . . . Is the water OK?