A French mayor ordered a halt to swimming in 2018 due to a male dolphin's behavior toward swimmers.
A French mayor ordered a halt to swimming in 2018 due to a male dolphin's behavior toward swimmers.In 2018, at the French seaside village of Landévennec, a Dolphin named Zafar reportedly scared tourists and locals by approaching them and trying to rub up against them. The dolphin was swimming off the city of Brest and was present with bathers, kayakers, and children. Its rutting behavior, which is linked to the dolphin mating season, apparently alarmed the beach-goers.
After hearing of these reports, Landevennec's mayor, Roger Lars, issued a bylaw banning swimming and diving near the village's shoreline whenever Zafar's presence was confirmed. The ban was initiated to protect people's security. According to the Guardian, local media later reported that the swimming ban was lifted after dolphin Zafar moved away from the coast.
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