A sudden increase in injuries to beachgoers in Japan's Wasaka Bay has been reported to be caused by one particularly aggressive dolphin, with experts suggesting sexual frustration may be the cause of the strange behaviour.

47 or more A series of injuries from dolphin attacks in the area between 2022 and the present has prompted marine researchers to investigate the cause of these unusual encounters. According to The New York Times: Marine experts told the paper that a single male Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin may be responsible for the alarming increase in incidents. (Related article: US intelligence reports Houthi attacks cause Red Sea container traffic to plummet by 90%)

Ryoichi Matsubara, director of the Echizen Matsushima Aquarium in Fukui Prefecture, said the conclusion came after a thorough review of photos and videos of the incident. He told the media that the aggressive behaviour may have been driven by a mating urge.

NEW YORK: A sexually frustrated dolphin is accused of sexually assaulting and injuring 45 people in Japan's Wasaka Bay.

The bottlenose dolphin is accused of going on a multi-year rampage, sexually assaulting beachgoers about 200 miles west of Tokyo.

The dolphins reportedly… pic.twitter.com/O06AJGbHAh

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) August 27, 2024

Matsubara told The New York Times that the dolphin had been seen “trying to press its genitals against humans,” but added that reports had shown the dolphin had also bitten people who approached or made physical contact with it.

Putu Mustika, a marine scientist and lecturer at Australia's James Cook University, told the outlet that dolphins can unintentionally injure humans during mating behavior. “Dolphins can be very aggressive when mating,” he was quoted as saying. He told the outlet that dolphins' jumping on humans could be a sign of mating behavior and a sign that they are “lonely dolphins in heat.” (Related article: Beach crimes on the rise, Hawaii police tell people to keep valuables out of the water)

Fukui prefecture authorities are working to raise public awareness and establish safety measures, The New York Times reported, and experts have reportedly advised people to keep a safe distance from wild dolphins.

“If it were a bear, people would run away. There is no difference between dolphins and bears in terms of destructive power,” Matsubara told the media.

“We experts are afraid of them,” he continued, and was quoted as saying, “People who don't know about them think they're cute.”