Venice has been charmed by a recent visitor: An acrobatic, wild dolphin. The feeling appears to be mutual — he so far refuses to leave — but proximity to humans has put him in danger.
The dolphin nicknamed Mimmo has been delighting tourists and Venetians for months with his acrobatic flips. Experts are now eager to move him into open water, especially after verifying wounds indicating that the dolphin had been likely hit by a boat propeller.
Multiple agencies used low-intensity acoustic devices to nudge Mimmo away from the heavily trafficked St. Mark’s Basin on Saturday — and it worked briefly. But the dolphin came back within an hour, as experts feared he would.
“It’s very worrying because it’s a hot spot with lots of boat traffic,’’ said Guido Pietroluongo, a veterinarian at the University of Padua’s emergency response team for stranded dolphins, whales and porpoises, known by the acronym CERT.
St. Mark’s Basin, the shallow expanse of water in front of St. Mark’s Square connecting to both the Giudecca and Grand Canals, is heavily trafficked by ferries, vaporetti buses, water taxis, and private boats.
Mimmo follows the pattern of a so-called social loner, typically a young male dolphin that breaks away from the pod for food or for social reasons and then comes into contact with the human world, said Sandro Mazzariol, a CERT veterinarian.
“Around 100 cases have been documented around the world in which these animals are absolutely at ease and remain healthy despite not interacting with their peers,’’ Mazzariol said in a Facebook video post.
Mimmo has been closely monitored during his lagoon sojourn, and has been reported in good health and nutrition as he feasts on a diet befitting any Venetian tourist: mullet, sea bass and sea bream. His behavior also has been deemed normal, including his playful aerial flips.
The University of Padua team has been going out weekly to check on the animal, and they get regular updates from citizens who share sightings, including photos and videos.
By James Kisoo
