Overview

• Eyewitness Rhys Paterson says the lone bottlenose jumped on a swimmer’s back four times and repeatedly forced two women underwater off Lyme Regis on Aug. 14, with video capturing one saying she was "scared to death."
• Reggie has been approaching people for months and was filmed interacting closely with swimmers earlier in August after sustaining a suspected boat‑propeller gash in July.
• The Marine Management Organisation warns that close contact disrupts natural behaviour and can lead to injury or death, advising people to never swim with, feed, touch, or approach the dolphin and to leave the area if it comes near.
• UK cetaceans are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, with penalties of up to six months in prison and an unlimited fine for reckless disturbance.
• Despite repeated warnings, new footage shows paddleboarders and children gathering near the dolphin in Lyme Bay, with conservation charities cautioning that habituation raises risks to both people and the animal.