Dolphins are renowned for leaping out of the water and putting on a show for tourists.
But one 600-pound ‘monster’ took things a little further in by jumping onto the deck of a charter boat and landing on a woman in Florida.
The passenger was treated for a sprained ankle and the dolphin gently put back in the water by wildlife officials, deputies and a team from the Isles of Capri Fire and Rescue Department.
This 15ft long dolphin stunned a group of day-trippers as it jumped up and flipped itself onto the deck of a boat on Sunday, suffering a small gash
These were the frantic scenes as the daytrippers tried to save the 700lb mammal and get it back into the water
Lt. Keith Perry told USA Today: ”When we pulled up, the boat was three quarters full with water and had the biggest dolphin I had ever seen.
‘It was huge. It was a monster.’
The 24ft boat Cool Beans was following a group of dolphins on the Marco River when one apparently mistimed its jump, said Perry.
It took took 10 officials from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Collier County Sheriff’s Office to get mammal back in the water.
Rescuers used a backboard to help get the bottlenose back into the water
Fortunately no one was seriously hurt and the dolphin made it back into the water with no injuries other than the small cuts
The team spent 20 minutes wrapping rope around the dolphin and then placing it on an immobilising board before releasing it.
Perry said: ‘He wasn’t doing anything to us. He wasn’t moving. It was almost like he knew he was stuck and that he had to rely on us to get out.’
The eight people on board were excited about their close encounter with the friendly sea creature.
Perry said: ‘Most of the people on board were joyous just because they had the pleasure to be so close to most people’s favourite animal.’
