Dolphin Oliver’s beach play in Croatia sparks expert safety warnings

A wild bottlenose dolphin known locally as Oliver swam close to the shore at Maslenica on Croatia’s Dalmatian coast and joined beachgoers in a game of water‑ball, an encounter captured on video and shared widely online. The animal’s repeated approach to people, which has been observed for years, has raised concerns among marine biologists.

Experts from the Croatian institute Plavi svijet and the Blue World Institute warn that such habituation can endanger both humans and the dolphin. They advise keeping at least a 50‑metre distance, avoiding feeding, touching or chasing the animal, and note risks of injury from the dolphin’s size and speed as well as possible disease transmission. Similar incidents in Japan have resulted in injuries, underscoring the need for caution.