The whale – believed to be an adult Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin – has bitten several swimmers at three beaches in Fukui prefecture on the Sea of ​​Japan coast since late July. Most of the incidents occurred within 10 meters of shore, the Mainichi Shimbun said – a sign that dolphins in the area are used to encountering humans in shallow water. The newspaper said officials had installed an underwater device that emits ultrasonic waves in an attempt to deter the animals, but added that two attacks occurred after the equipment was installed. In the most serious case, a swimmer needed 14 stitches after being bitten on the hand at Koshino Beach, a popular destination for sun-seekers. In response, local police began patrolling beaches and handing out flyers alerting people to the potential threat and warning them to keep their distance until the beach is closed to bathers at the end of the month. While dolphin attacks are extremely rare, they are not unheard of, especially if the animals feel threatened. “There are certain parts of the body where dolphins don’t like to be touched, such as the tip of their nose and their dorsal fin,” tourism promotion official Masaki Yasui told AFP, adding that videos published in media social media posts appeared to show swimmers trying to touch the Fukui dolphin. “We encourage visitors to watch the dolphin from a distance if they encounter it.” Experts at an aquarium in Fukui said descriptions of the attacker’s appearance led them to believe the attacks were the work of a single dolphin first spotted in the area in April. The victims include two men in their 40s – both treated in hospital for minor injuries sustained on the same day at Koshino Beach – and a 60-year-old man who was swimming less than four meters from shore at Takasu Beach when he was bitten on his right side hand. “I had heard about the dolphin on the news and would have jumped out of the water immediately if I saw it, but by the time I noticed it, it was right next to me,” he told Mainichi. The man said he tried to open the dolphin’s mouth, but it refused to let go of his hand and appeared to be trying to grab onto it, almost pushing it under the water. “I panicked, but I was saved when someone nearby shooed it away,” he said. A local cafe owner said the dolphins had occasionally pushed swimmers in the past, but recent incidents had escalated “to the point where they are jumping on them”.