A dolphin swam to Venice and stayed: experts explained what to do
Researchers have been observing a lone dolphin in the Venetian Lagoon for several months and have come to the conclusion that the animal is healthy, and the main threat is boats and attempts by people to "socialise" with the dolphin.
A lone dolphin called Mimmo has been living in the Venetian Lagoon for several months now - and he has become a local celebrity. Scientists who have been following him since the summer of 2025 say that the dolphin looks healthy and does not need special "special protection". But it is necessary to control the way people behave around him.
The team began observations immediately after Mimmo's first appearance in the lagoon (June 2025). The dolphin was regularly tracked from boats, as well as collecting reports from citizens and services. Over the course of several months, it moved from the southern part of the lagoon closer to Venice and eventually established itself in the San Marco Basin area - right by the city's most popular tourist hotspot.
According to the researchers, the mere appearance of an afalina in "urban" waters does not seem improbable: this species is considered to be very adaptable. Mimmo is regularly observed hunting fish (such as mullet) and its behaviour is generally "typical of the species".
The problem is different: the centre of Venice is a dense traffic of boats and vaporettos, and for the dolphin there is a higher risk of collisions and injuries from the propellers. But, as the authors stress, the main danger is not the "wrong" behaviour of the dolphin, but the wrong behaviour of people: attempts to swim too close, chase, touch or feed it.
Scientists believe that in such a situation it is necessary not to catch the animal and not to try to forcibly "take" it to the sea, but to strictly observe the rules: limit speed, do not come close and suppress any "interactions" with a wild protected species (including feeding and contact attempts). Attempts to "displace" the dolphin with acoustic deterrents have already been tried - and it didn't work, and there are more risks than benefits from capture and relocation, according to the authors.
The main conclusion of the study is harsh: what is unusual is not that the dolphin ended up in Venice, but that people still find it difficult to respect the boundaries of wildlife.