Wild dolphin attacks Brit swimming in Bolivia leaving her fighting for life

25 February 2023 , 17:40

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Traumatised Claire Bye, 28, was swimming in a river in Bolivia, when a pink river dolphin suddenly sunk it's teeth into her right foot (Image: TomWren SWNS)

A British backpacker was left fighting for her life after a wild dolphin mauled her foot.

Claire Bye, 28, was swimming in a river in Bolivia as part of a South American adventure when a pink river dolphin attacked.

She says: “It suddenly lunged at me. It had a huge beak with a mouthful of spiky teeth.

“I screamed, but it wouldn’t let go. I’ve never felt pain like it.”

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Claire was expecting the trip of a lifetime (TomWren SWNS)

Claire required stitches and then her foot got infected

The creature even clung on when witnesses tried to haul her out of the water, she said, before giving up and swimming off.

From the safety of the pontoon, Claire saw blood pouring out of her foot.

She added: “My skin was flapping around and I could see my bone.

“I kept thinking I was going to lose my foot.”

After the attack on January 4, the acoustic consultant was taken to a local hospital, which she claimed was so basic it was “like a farmyard”.

Claire was swimming in a river in Santa Rosa de Yacuma, Bolivia (TomWren SWNS)

She was given 32 stitches – but developed a life-threatening infection.

Back home in Bristol, with another infection, she needed surgery to transfer living tissue from her groin to her foot and to sew the torn blood vessels back together.

Claire said the local hospital was like a 'farmyard'

Claire, who had been on an Amazon jungle trek during a dream seven-month overseas trip though South and Central America, said guides had been encouraging tourists to use water bottles to interact with the dolphins.

She had been playing with the dolphin from the pontoon and was attacked when she got in the water to retrieve a dropped bottle.

Tour guides had encouraged them to play with the Pink River dolphins (Fernando Trujillo / Omacha)

Now she suffers flashbacks of the horror attack.

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She is off work due to being unable to walk properly and says she does not know how her mobility will be affected long-term.

Claire now back in England has been left unable to walk properly (TomWren SWNS)

She added: “I used to really love wild swimming and hope to be able to do it in the future, but I’ll never swim with dolphins again.”

Authorities are investigating following other dolphin attacks, and warning signs have been put up at the site at Santa Rosa de Yacuma.

Ellie Fawcett