A killer dolphin is on the loose in British waters after it slayed one of its own kind – and then a shark.
The bottlenose dolphin, which has been nicknamed Jack the Flipper, was caught on camera attacking a smooth-hound shark last week.
Meanwhile, three months ago it was also seen killing a baby common dolphin by repeatedly tossing it out of the water.
The killer dolphin is part of a pod that lives off New Quay, Cardigan Bay, near Aberystwyth, mid Wales.
It was initially named Anakin – after the young Jedi knight in the Star Wars franchise -by dolphin watcher Sarah Michelle Wyer.
‘I have not seen a dolphin throw a shark out in the eight years I have been watching them,’ she said.
‘One of the skippers I work with has seen them throw tope out of the water, which is another small member of the shark family.
‘But when Anakin killed the young common dolphin, it was the first recorded instance of this behaviour happening in Cardigan Bay.
‘It is unknown why this dolphin chose to do it – as it would have been of no threat.
‘Bottlenose dolphins are highly intelligent creatures and are capable of many unusual behaviours – many not so pleasant.
‘They are not ‘friendly flipper’ like many assume. This particular dolphin seems to have a very unusual personality.
‘Dolphins are known to kill porpoises in a behaviour known as porpicide. But despite the name common dolphin, they aren’t common around here.
‘And we now think this could be because of the bottlenose dolphins.’
Experts have been left baffled by the killer dolphin’s behaviour.
A spokesperson for Dolphin Spotting Boat trips, who Sarah works with, added: ‘We were very surprised when one of our local dolphins, Anakin brought what we originally thought was a large salmon past the boat in its mouth and then threw the fish out the water.
‘To our surprise it was not a salmon at all but a member of the shark family called a smooth hound.
‘We aren’t sure if there are many records of smooth hounds being part of a bottlenose dolphin’s diet. Smooth hounds grow up to 4ft long.
‘Bottlenose dolphins are opportunistic feeders and have a very wide ranging diet of a variety of species of fish, squid and crustaceans.
‘We aren’t 100 per cent sure whether Anakin ate the shark or whether him and his friends were simply playing with it as they do.
‘Earlier this year, Anakin was also involved in a not-so-common incident where he played the main role in the demise of the young common dolphin.
‘Anakin’s dolphinality is a very unusual one to say the least.’
