Wild Dolphin Living Near Slidell, Louisiana

People who come in to contact with the dolphin living in waterways within the Lakeshore Estates subdivision near Slidell should do their best to ignore the animal, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service representatives told a Lakeshore Estates Homeowners Association meeting on Monday. People have touched, fed and swam with the wild male bottle-nosed dolphin, so the animal is no longer wary of humans or boats, and even approaches them for food. The dolphin is aggressive by nature and at times likes to bite, head-butt and chase acquaintances.



"People need to be content to observe, not interact" with the dolphin, said NOAA Marine Mammal Branch chief Laura Engleby. If not, others will join the three people who have recently received treatment at a local hospital for bites from the creature that Engleby dubbed "the Slidell dolphin." Meanwhile, the dolphin, by its continued interaction, risks both injury and the loss of its ability to hunt for its own food, a crucial survival skill, said Stacey Horstman, Engleby's colleague at NOAA.


The dolphin in question made the Lakeshore Estates area its  home about the time of Hurricane Katrina. It was a newborn, and its parents probably swam there for safety but left the calf  behind after the storm, officials have said.


The sociable dolphin has attracted many spectators, some of whom ignore two signs along the water admonishing people to not feed or disturb the animal. Swimmers and boaters have jumped on the dolphin to feed or play with it, and a few have been bitten as a result.

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