A NEW Zealand woman is in critical condition in hospital after being crushed by a dolphin that leapt on to her boat, media reported today.
The 27-year-old woman had been watching from the bow of the small boat cruising among the marine mammals off the North Island's Coromandel Peninsula on Tuesday when the bottlenose dolphin landed on her, the New Zealand Herald said. She suffered serious head injuries and was flown to hospital in Auckland. The dolphin also smashed the boat's windscreen and bow rails before jumping back into the ocean, witnesses told the Herald.
Coast guard official Steve Taylor said the dolphin probably got over-excited and jumped on to the boat, although he had never heard of such an incident before. (source)
The USA is turning these animals in soldiers anyway: "Two bottlenose dolphins deployed from the transport ship Ponce are among an unspecified number of the marine mammals sent from San Diego by the Navy to the region this week to safeguard allied vessels from mines and other dangers, the Navy said.
They may soon be joined by California sea lions trained to locate and snare enemy divers who are then reeled in by U.S. forces. A "platoon" of sea lions has been in Bahrain for two months and could see action soon, a Navy spokesman said." (source)