People frequenting a Japanese beach are on heightened alert after usually docile wild dolphins have been biting more and more people in the waters off a beach near the south of the country.
On Thursday, the Japanese outlet Fukui Shimbun reported that two more people were bitten by aggressive dolphins at Koshino Beach in Fukui Prefecture, which is located on the coast touching the Sea of Japan. Two people were swimming in the ocean when dolphins bit them on their arms.
Emergency services came to the scene at around 9 a.m. local time on Thursday after an emergency call was placed, and they were rushed to the hospital to treat their injuries. Police released a warning to beachgoers instructing them not to go into the water if dolphins were spotted.
Authorities said one of the victims, a man in his 40s, was bitten on both arms at around 9 a.m. Police said another man, also in his 40s, was bitten on the fingers of his left hand later that day at around 3:30 p.m. local time. Dolphin attacks are said to be rare, but there have been instances where dolphins were observed showing aggression towards other sea life.
City officials have approved the use of a device to be installed in the water that emits ultrasonicfrequencies to try and scare off the dolphins. Authorities also erected a sign to warn people in the area that dolphins have shown signs of aggression in the waters off that beach.
As theBBC reported, Koshino Beach is a popular destination for tourists around the country.
Authorities haven't announced what type of dolphins were involved in the attacks, but they did note that the wild dolphins have become used to humans in the area and have been spotted in more shallow knee-deep waters.
