[WATCH] Dolphin Attacks Trainer At Miami Seaquarium During Performance

A dolphin at the Miami Seaquarium attacked a female trainer during a live show, and the entire incident was captured on video by an audience member.

The attack took place on Saturday during the aquarium’s Dolphin Flipper Show, about 10 to 15 minutes into the performance, according to audience member Shannon Carpenter who posted the video on TikTok.

In the video, the trainer can be seen splashing in the pool for help, and it becomes apparent that neither her actions nor the dolphin’s, are a part of the show.

Carpenter told WSVN, a Fox affiliate also out of Miami, “(It) looked like the dolphin rammed into the trainer. There was a struggle, some kind of collision underwater happened. The lady on the paddleboard, she paddled out of the water pretty quick, and then the lead trainer started swimming back towards the dock, and it looked like she got ran into a couple more times.”

The trainer was able to swim herself to the dock of the pool, where she was then checked for injuries by first responders, who had arrived on the scene. It was unclear from the video if the trainer had sustained any injuries from the dolphin attack.

In a statement obtained by WSVN, Seaquarium said, “a trainer accidentally scratched the dolphin, Sundance, with her hand. This was undoubtedly painful to Sundance, who reacted by breaking away from the routine and swimming towards and striking the trainer. Both Sundance and the trainer are recovering well.”

The Miami Seaquarium has fallen under scrutiny, especially by animal welfare organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which also released a statement about the incident.

It said: “Time is up for the Miami Seaquarium, where long-suffering dolphins desperately need protection and workers are at risk. PETA urges this abusement park to end its exploitation of dolphins by getting them to sanctuaries as quickly as possible, so that they’d never be used in tawdry shows again and no one else would get hurt.”

The aquarium also said this was the first major collision between a dolphin and a trainer, according to the WSVN.