Playful dolphin swims with youngsters in Cornish harbour
The playful creature was caught on camera as it splashed around
Last updated 23rd Aug 2021
The moment a playful dolphin surprised swimmers in a Cornish harbour has been caught on camera.
The creature joined youngsters in the water at Hayle on Sunday evening.
Video footage shows the playful dolphin splashing in the water amongst the excited swimmers and paddleboarders.
Known as 'Nick', he can be seen swimming right up to people in the water and playing.
Onlooker Helen Williams said: "We had gone to the quay to meet friends and family as we do often at high tide for the children to jump and us to swim. I’d gone to get food from Lula’s for my boys when my friend rang me to say there was a dolphin playing amongst the boys. I didn’t believe at first as we’ve never seen a dolphin in the harbour before but she was serious. I had to wait for the food and was worried I was going to miss it but it was still there when I got back.
"It was there approximately an hour playing with the people and paddle boarders in the water. Initially there was a concern it had something around its mouth but a inshore boat from the local Hayle Surf Life Saving Club were able to get a close look and see it was just scarring on its nose. The dolphin was swimming up to and round all the people and seemed to be having great fun. The people were not chasing it, it was going to them.
"Someone from marine rescue or somewhere came and said it was having fun and being playful but as well as the tide them going out there was a concern it could get over excited and hurt somebody so a local off duty police officer and the marine person asked everyone to leave the water so it would follow the surf club boat out of the river to the sea. It was an amazing once in a life time experience. The person in the videos that it got really close to and was out the water with was my nephew so it’s so special we caught it on camera.
"I posted the video on a local Facebook group and it’s received thousands of comments and reactions. So many people have loved to have seen it."
You can watch the video, captured by onlooker Helen Williams, below:
British Divers Marine Life Rescue have confirmed that this particular dolphin is a lone bottlenose known as 'Nick'.
The marine conservation experts are advising people to act with caution around Cornwall’s latest unusual visitor.
Nick has been spending most of his time around the Isles of Scilly, but has also been frequenting waters around the coast of Cornwall, attracting a lot of attention.
This animal is known to the groups as a ‘social solitary’ dolphin, a highly unusual circumstance where an individual chooses to interact primarily with people and watercraft over living with other dolphins.
They often display behaviours such as following boats, spending time inside harbours, and even coming amongst swimmers, which can understandably elicit a lot of excitement from observers.
This particular individual is known to have visited Scilly in June 2020, and since then has also been seen in County Cork, Ireland.