Swimmers banned from Brittany beach after dolphin rubs them up the wrong way
A SEASIDE village in Brittany has banned swimming from its beach because a sexually frustrated dolphin has been scaring tourists and locals by trying to rub up against them.
The dolphin, which locals have nicknamed Zafar, has tried to prevent several swimmers from getting back to the beach at Landévennec, using its nose to push one woman out of the water and up into the air. Often clearly in a state of sexual arousal, it also often tries to rub up against kayaks and other small boats.
The 10ft dolphin has been hanging around the Bay of Brest for months, amusing tourists as it visited the beaches and shorelines of Plougasteldaoulas, Logonna-daoulas and Landévennec. Children in sailing schools were delighted when the dolphin would turn up and swim around their boats, and the creature sometimes lets swimmers grip its dorsal fin and go for a ride.
But a few weeks ago things changed. “Swimming and diving are banned on the village shoreline whenever the presence of the dolphin is confirmed,” said a new bylaw issued last week by Roger Lars, the mayor of Landévennec. “Approaching within 50 metres of the dolphin is also forbidden.” Mr Lars told local media that he had issued the new rules “to ensure people’s safety” after Zafar’s recent bad behaviour.
“Several swimmers were frightened,” he said. “He even lifted up a woman swimmer with his nose.”
Local media have been awash with tales of the dolphin’s less savoury antics, with several going into detail about aghast tourists being confronted with the mammal’s sexual arousal. Attacks or injury to humans by dolphins are rare and a Breton lawyer is planning legal action to have what he calls the swimming ban overturned.
Erwan Le Cornec said: “The mayor wants to make dolphins look like ferocious beasts. If you were to apply these rules across the board, whenever a pedestrian approaches a dog all the mayors in France should issue bylaws banning pedestrians in town.”