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9 Shark In the middle of the channel Dilo was cruising slowly over the seabed. Without thinking about it he was listening to the sounds all around him. They were part of his world. When Debra entered the water and started swimming he immediately became conscious of her presence although he couldn’t see her. He focused his sonar on the new object. The echo that came back told him it was about the same size as a seal. But it was definitely not a seal. It wasn’t moving very fast - so he could ignore it. But it was in the area that he had decided to live in - for the time being at least. So he decided to investigate. He had been taught how to do that by his mother. “Use your sonar, approach slowly and always from behind,” she had instructed. As he got closer his magic sound told him that the strange creature Through the blue green haze the dolphin could see Debra’s arms and legs moving in unison as she continued to swim with the breast stroke. He decided that she posed no threat. Dilo was intrigued. So he moved in for a close inspection, surfacing just beside her and breathing in and out with a quick “ffouff”. The sound caused Debra to turn sideways. In that instant she saw a triangular fin very close. Shark. Terror pulsed through her like an electric shock. She didn’t think for a fraction of a second. She panicked, screamed, and swam as fast as she could using overarm strokes. She saw Robin standing on the steps and headed towards him, hoping the monster would not get her before she reached safety. With arms flailing as fast as she could she snatched quick breaths. Dilo was surprised by the sudden change in the strange creature. He sensed Debra’s fear. The dolphin dived and headed out into the main channel. When she got to the steps Debra hauled herself out and threw herself into the arms of her brother. “Robin a shark came to get me,” she cried between gasps of breath. “I’ve never been so frightened in all my life.” Robin held his sister and tried to calm her down. “It’s alright, you’re safe now. “Oh Robin I was so scared,” sobbed Debra. The lighthouse keeper, who had watched the whole incident, scrambled down the steps as quickly as he could. He reached the children a few moments after Debra climbed out of the sea. “Oh Uncle Pat, did you see it - the shark - it was enormous - I thought it was going to eat me,” Debra blurted out between sobs. “It wasn’t a shark.” “It was I saw it.” “It was a dolphin.” “A dolphin?” said Debra disbelievingly. “You’ve made me all wet,” said Robin realising his sister’s panic was a false alarm. “What a let down,” he continued “I’ve never seen a shark.” “Oh don’t be so beastly Robin. You wouldn’t like it if I was bitten in half would you?” Debra cried indignantly. |
was a mammal because it had two air sacs in its chest. It had two tails and two flippers, all being waved at the same time. It appeared that the creature was using them for propulsion but they were very inefficient. There was a head and flowing back from it were long threads of hair. It was very unusual. He surfaced silently and decided it was safe enough to do a complete circle around the clumsy creature. Slowly he tightened the circle until the creature came into vision.
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To obtain your very own copy of ‘Dilo Makes Friends’ by Horace Dobbs, go to the Dolphin Shop or order it from your local bookshop quoting |
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International Dolphin Watch 10 Melton Road, North Ferriby, E.Yorks HU14 3ET. England.
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