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“I Could See My Bone”: Dolphin Bite Leaves 28-Year-Old Swimmer Fighting for Life Following Horrifying Turn of Events

Published 02/27/2023, 6:15 AM EST

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Dolphins are recognized as the 2nd most intelligent mammal on Earth after humans. The grey mammals are exuberant, and elated and are known to establish amity with the sea pursuers. Be it a swimmer or a surfer or just a mere spectator from afar, dolphins know how to steal the show with their fascinating sea hoping tactics. However, they are infamous for their insanely violent mauling and maiming when they feel threatened. Likewise, a 28-year-old woman recently fell prey to a vicious dolphin attack, and it turned out to be one life-threatening encounter.

Claire Bye, a 28-year-old woman from Bristol, United Kingdom, visited Santa Rosa de Yacuma, Bolivia in January 2023. Along with her friends, Bye went swimming in the river in the middle of Amazon pampas. While paddling in the water, Bye’s foot was suddenly grabbed by a dolphin and was lacerated brutally. What happened next is an unprecedented sight of bloody waters and a plea for help.

A traumatizing surfing episode for the UK native

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As per the report of The Independent, a pink river dolphin sunk its sharp jaws into the right foot of the 28-year-old. Acting out of her reflex, Bye tried to break free from the mammal’s clutches, but her attempts went in vain. However, after 20 long seconds, the grey animal finally released its grip and swam away. 

Following the attack, Bye finally returned to the safety of the shore but unfortunately got some severe gashes on her foot. Explaining the agonizing episode, Bye stated, “I just kept thinking I was going to lose my foot. My skin was flapping around and I could see my bone”. Things further went downhill, when the wound got severely infected and she was immediately taken to Bolivia’s capital, La Paz. But did she make it out safely?

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To everyone’s relief, the 28-year-old underwent a surgical cleaning and the removal of dead tissue to cure the infection. Nevertheless, after two weeks of recovery, she finally flew home to Bristol. When she got back to her homeland, she underwent skin flap surgery, in which the affected area is covered with living tissue. However, it took another two weeks for Bye to achieve robustness.

Expressing the torment she went through, the UK native conceded, “I’ve never felt pain like it”. Furthermore, giving away the tidbits about the grey predator, she mentioned, “It wasn’t the cute-looking dolphins were used to seeing, it had a huge beak with a mouthful of spiky teeth”. Clearly, it was one traumatizing experience for Bye.

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Moreover, the 28-year-old started her expedition on the trip of a lifetime in October 2022. Bye and her friends planned the trip around South and Central America for seven months. However, her travel plans were cut short in January 2023 after Bye got severely injured by the whetted jaws of the dolphin. It indeed was a horrifying swimming mishap.

Watch This Story: Human vs AI Team USA Gives Artificial Intelligence a Try to Do Surfing

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Written by:

Purva Jain

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Purva Jain is a US Sports author for EssentiallySports. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Mody University of Science and Technology. Purva is an avid reader and author of 3 books that are published in national and international marketplaces.
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Edited by:

Jahnabi Choudhury