Leaping Dolphin Injures Woman In Nz

[mrmoshe]

Leaping dolphin injures woman in NZ

A dolphin that jumped into a boat off New Zealand's North Island badly injuring a woman, was probably a world first, says an expert.

The 27-year-old woman was struck by the leaping dolphin near Slipper Island in the western reaches of the Bay of Plenty on Tuesday afternoon.

She was admitted to Auckland Hospital's intensive care unit in a serious condition.

The dolphin was unharmed.

Dolphin expert Alan Baker described the incident as a freak accident.

"I've been studying dolphins for 40 years and this is the first time I've heard of a dolphin jumping into a boat," he told National Radio.

"More often a boat hits a dolphin rather than a dolphin hitting a boat.

"This is, I think, a unique occurrence and a most unfortunate one indeed."

Dr Baker was not aware of the exact circumstances of the incident, but said dolphins were very acrobatic animals so if a boat was travelling at speed that could have been a contributing factor.

"They jump for various reasons - courtship, just announcing that they're in an area to other dolphins - and if the boat was travelling at speed and came across a pod that was jumping a dolphin could be caught unawares and just end up landing in a boat," he said.

Dolphins normally had very good judgment and were often seen in close proximity to boats, he said. The one involved was possibly a bottlenose, which can grow up to four metres in length.

"They do a lot of jumping and twisting and turning and flopping and carrying on," he said.

[coollamon]

Ouch

Thats got to hurt

Coollamon

[Guest Reel Addiction (Sea Jay)]

Very unfortunate i think i would be going out and buying a lottery ticket cause that is a about the same odds.

[Lasty]

How unlucky was that!

[clutch]

Her injuries were quite horrific, hopefully just a freak accident that wont happen again

heres a report of her injuries from the NZ Herald

Sunday December 31, 2006

By Jared Savage

The woman crushed by a dolphin in a freak boating accident was able to breathe by herself for the first time yesterday - but family and friends fear she faces a long road to recovery.

Kelly James, 27, is still in intensive care in Auckland City Hospital nearly a week after a 300kg bottle-nose dolphin leapt out of the water and landed on top of her while she was cruising in a boat off the Coromandel.

The Pukekohe woman had two heart-attacks as the Westpac Helicopter rushed her to Auckland on Tuesday but more details of her horrific injuries were revealed yesterday.

Her injuries include: bruising to the brain fractured vertebrae, every rib broken, pelvis cracked in four places, both lungs collapsed, lacerated liver and facial injuries.