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Headline: RAW VIDEO: Stop the boats! Tourists urged to take care of Venice's newest celebrity resident - Mimmo the dolphin
Caption: BY MARK WORGAN Conservationists in Venice are looking to protect the city's newest celebrity resident from his greatest threat - humans. That’s because the newest star in the city - or rather its lagoon - is a dolphin named Mimmo. Marine researchers have documented the movements of the solitary bottlenose dolphin, which has taken up residence in the Venetian Lagoon over the past few months. They say he is doing well, but are concerned about how human behaviour could affect his welfare in one of the world’s busiest tourist cities. Their findings have now been published in the journal Frontiers in Ethology, detailing the animal’s movements over several months and assessing how best to manage its presence. “We present the case of one of the most charismatic animals in one of the most iconic cities: a solitary dolphin in Venice,” said senior author Guido Pietroluongo, a conservation veterinary pathologist at the University of Padova. “Our observations document this animal’s remarkable adaptation to an unusual context and highlight the need to manage human behaviour to ensure its welfare.” According to the research team, the greatest risk to the dolphin comes from irresponsible boat driving. Measures such as controlling boat speeds and limiting close approaches have been suggested. “This situation is primarily about managing human behavior rather than managing the dolphin,” said Giovanni Bearzi, the study’s lead author, who has studied Adriatic dolphins for four decades. “Recognizing the priority of safeguarding a protected species, treating it as a wild animal, and behaving in an informed, aware, and responsible way is key in wildlife management.” Bottlenose and common dolphins were once abundant across the Adriatic Sea, including the Venetian Lagoon. Common dolphins, however, virtually disappeared from the region before the 1970s as a result of human activity. Bottlenose dolphins, which are more adaptable, are still found in the Adriatic but have largely avoided lagoon waters in recent decades. Monitoring of Mimmo began shortly after it was first sighted in June 2025. Scientists observed the dolphin weekly from boats, with support from authorities and local residents. Over the following months, it travelled from the southern lagoon towards the city of Venice, where it remains. “Observing bottlenose dolphins in urban areas is not particularly surprising, as they are extremely adaptable and opportunistic marine mammals,” Dr Pietroluongo said. Dolphins have historically lived in the area and are well adapted to it. “Mimmo appears healthy and is regularly observed feeding on mullets. Since his arrival in the lagoon, any behavior displayed has been typical of the species.” Researchers say the greater concern is not the dolphin’s presence in the lagoon, but its prolonged stay in the San Marco Basin, directly in front of San Marco Square, the city’s busiest tourist area. Remaining so close to intense human activity increases risks such as injury from boat propellers. The scientists noted that dolphins in open waters also face serious human-related threats, particularly from fishing activity, but said the immediate dangers in Venice were different in nature. The team has requested existing laws prohibiting disturbance of protected wildlife - including attempts to touch or feed the dolphin, be strictly enforced. Attempts to drive the dolphin back into open waters using acoustic deterrents have already failed and are not recommended, the researchers said. Capturing the animal to relocate it would also pose significant risks and offer little benefit. “What is truly unusual is not the dolphin’s presence, but the persistent difficulty humans have in respecting such animals today,” Dr Bearzi said. “We need to appreciate the opportunities to coexist with and enjoy wildlife. Historical and contemporary documentation clearly shows that dolphins have accompanied human maritime activities for millennia, yet we still struggle to coexist with them appropriately.”
Keywords: feature,photo,video,venice,dolphin,animals,nature
PersonInImage: Bottlenose dolphin Mimmo swimming in the San Marco Basin, Venice.