A man says he is lucky to be alive after being attacked by a “sexually frustrated” dolphin which experts believe is responsible for terrorising a Japanese town all summer.

Takuma Goto had been swimming off the town of Tsuruga in central Japan with a friend earlier this summer when they were attacked by a lone dolphin.

Experts believe a single dolphin, which may be sexually frustrated, could be responsible for at least 15 attacks on swimmers in Fukui this summer, up from five incidents last summer and one in 2022.

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“I knew it was not a shark, but it came straight at me,” he said, adding that he did nothing to attract or antagonise the dolphin, but that it nonetheless began a sustained assault.

A surfer eventually came to Mr Goto’s rescue as onlookers watched in horror from the beach. Once he was ashore, he washed the bite wounds with water. “The insides of my finger were popping out,” he said, and was taken to a nearby hospital.

The 23-year-old, who works in financial sales, was left with a massive gash on his left index finger, which required five stitches, as well as bite wounds to his left wrist and forearm and his right hand and upper arm.

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Experts also believe the dolphin may be sexually frustrated following reports in other incidents that it attempted to press its genitals against its victims.

“Bottlenose dolphins are highly social animals and this sociality can be expressed in very physical ways,” Dr Simon Allen, a biologist and principal investigator with the Shark Bay Dolphin Research project, told the BBC.

“Just as in humans and other social animals, hormonal fluctuations, sexual frustration or the desire to dominate might drive the dolphin to injuring the people it interacts with. Since they are such powerful animals, this can lead to serious injury in humans.”

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