Wild Dolphin Attacks Swimmers In US Town

A wild dolphin has reportedly been attacking swimmers and boaters in a US town.

The dolphin in a canal in Slidell, Louisiana, is thought to have bitten several people over recent months.

It has been living in the canal since 2005, when the town suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Katrina.

A teenage boy became the creature's latest victim when he was bitten as he washed his hands in the water while standing in his boat.

Greg Walters, who lives by the canal in Lakeshore Estates, said he knew two people who had been attacked.

"The dolphin was raised back here and then all of a sudden I think the mother disappeared and the dolphin just stayed here.

"It grabbed my niece by the hand. She pulled her hand out of the mouth, and in doing so ripped the tendons out of her hand and had to go to the emergency room."

Staff at Slidell Memorial Hospital say two patients have been admitted with injuries over the last week, and that another person was treated for a dolphin bite at a different hospital.

Emergency room Dr Lloyd Gueringer told the Fox 8 news channel: "This is out of the ordinary. I've never seen it before and I've been practising emergency medicine for over 30 years."

Experts believe the dolphin has become used to being fed by local people and had begun its attacks because it now associated humans with food.

Wildlife officials have no plans to remove the dolphin.