NEW SMYRNA BEACH – An Ohio couple, Norman and Barbara Howard, had a 400-pound giant Atlantic bottlenose dolphin jump into their boat while they cruised the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway yesterday.
It happened near a bridge in New Smyrna Beach, while the couple was going under the bridge. “That thing had a good punch,” Norman Howard said. “Mike Tyson does not hit that hard.”
The dolphin was O.K.; the couple had injuries but were ok, and are now getting their 15 minutes.
The accident follows a number of freak animal encounters in Florida’s creature-abundant waters. With the restoration of marine estuaries and endangered species, visitors need to be careful. In the last year sturgeon have jumped into the way of Jet Skiers and a pelican nosed dived into a surprised swimmer, both on the Gulf Coast.
See the report at the Daytona Beach News Journal.
