Friendly dolphin wants to go fishing, too

The phrase “the more the merrier” was put to the test when an unexpected guest joined a trio’s fishing trip.

As The Associated Press reports, Dean Harrison and two companions were out on a boat off the coast of New Zealand when they noticed the sun above them was suddenly a bit less bright. That’s because a dolphin had leapt from the water and into the sky before landing right on top of Harrison’s boat.

“This one decided to jump on board and say hello,” Harrison says. “One minute everything was fine and then just like lightning striking, there’s a big dolphin in our boat thrashing around and breaking everything.”

While one of the non-dolphins sustained minor injuries, all of the boat’s creatures were largely unharmed. However, the fishermen had a new problem on their hands/fins: they needed to get the dolphin back in the water. Since the new, exceptionally large crew member weighed about 900 pounds, simply pushing it back into the ocean was easier said than done.

“We looked at the dolphin still alive and breathing and we thought, we’ve got to start looking after him and figure out what to do,” Harrison says. “Because he’s stuck in the boat for now, so he’s coming along for the ride.”

Upon contacting New Zealand’s conservation agency, Harrison and company were directed to a nearby boat ramp, and their dolphin buddy was safely returned home. 

“The dolphin got to swim away and we got to walk away and we’ve all got a story to tell,” Harrison says. “It’s a good ending in a situation that could have been very different.”