A placid fishing trip turned \u201cberserk\u201d for three New Zealand men when a dolphin weighing more than 400 kilograms (900 pounds) appeared to fall out of the sky before crash-landing in their small boat. <\/p>\n
No one was badly hurt when the 3.4-meter (11-foot) bottlenose dolphin jumped aboard the open-top boat Friday, said Dean Harrison, the owner of the nearly 16-foot vessel. <\/p>\n
Harrison and two companions were fishing near the Hole in the Rock, a picturesque spot off the far north coast of New Zealand\u2019s North Island, while dolphins frolicked ahead. The men saw a shadow across the bright summer sun and heard an almighty boom \u2014 before chaos unfolded. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis one decided to jump on board and say hello,\u201d Harrison said. \u201cOne minute everything was fine and then just like lightning striking, there\u2019s a big dolphin in our boat, thrashing around and breaking everything.\u201d <\/p>\n
The creature\u2019s flailing snapped \u201cevery single fishing rod we had in the boat\u201d and severely damaged the bow as the trio clung to the sides of the vessel, said Harrison. One man had minor injuries to his arm where the juvenile male dolphin grazed his back and shoulder, but all three fishermen and the dolphin were otherwise uninjured. <\/p>\n
But returning the majestic creature to the sea was not an option for the trio due to its size. \u201cWe looked at the dolphin still alive and breathing and we thought, we\u2019ve got to start looking after him and figure out what to do,\u201d Harrison said. \u201cBecause he\u2019s stuck in the boat for now, so he\u2019s coming along for the ride.\u201d <\/p>\n
The men alerted New Zealand\u2019s conservation agency and were directed to a boat ramp an hour away, where workers waited to help the dolphin. On the way, the trio used a hose to keep the creature wet and protected it from the sun using a damp towel depicting players from the All Blacks rugby team. <\/p>\n
On shore, members of a local M\u0101ori tribe prayed for the dolphin before it was returned to the ocean using a tractor. Helpers gave the 2- 3-year-old creature a name: Tohu, which means \u201csign\u201d in the M\u0101ori language. <\/p>\n
Tohu is now also the name of Dean Harrison\u2019s boat. \u201cThe dolphin got to swim away and we got to walk away and we\u2019ve all got a story to tell,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a good ending in a situation that could have been very different.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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