A dog owner had an unusual encounter with a predatory fish on the coast of Croatia and captured the moment for Instagram.
Munich – The distinctive dorsal fin is something like the trademark of sharks. Ever since the huge predatory fish became the protagonists of various Hollywood films, the sight of a dorsal fin sticking out of the water is enough to send bathers and swimmers into complete panic. An Instagram user from Croatia who was walking by the sea with his dog was able to see a similar sight at the weekend. But the Finn belonged to a different animal.
Dog barks at predatory fish in Croatia - but it's not a shark
The Croatian dog owner shared a video of the encounter on Instagram on Sunday. Standing on the bank, he used his camera to film the fin of a stately fish that was swimming back and forth near the bank. The second protagonist of the clip: the Instagram user’s dog. The little four-legged friend was probably not particularly happy about the sight of the dorsal fin either, so he barked repeatedly at the fish.
The dog owner from Croatia obviously didn't want to withhold this encounter between land and sea creatures from her followers. “Communication between fish and dog,” was the description of the short clip on Instagram. According to the article, the video was shot in the south of Croatia near the popular holiday destination of Dubrovnik.
Unusual sighting in Croatia – dog owner meets “Mediterranean marlin”
The animal in the water was a predatory fish, but despite the distinctive dorsal fin it was not a shark - but a Mediterranean marlin (Latin: Tetrapturus belone). The Mediterranean marlin is the most common species of the marlin family in the Mediterranean. The animals can reach a body length of up to 2.40 meters and a weight of up to 70 kilograms. In addition to the distinctive dorsal fin, the animal's spear-like head appendage, which gives it its name, is one of the distinguishing features of the Mediterranean marlin.
Due to their hunting behavior, the animals are often found in pairs and are usually not found near the coast. When the video was made, the man and his dog had the rare luck of being able to observe a Mediterranean marlin so close to the shore. Maybe the dog's barking was just an expression of surprise at the unfamiliar encounter.
Sharks are not uncommon in the sea off Croatia - white sharks are also native to the Adriatic
However, encountering a shark while walking along the Adriatic is not impossible. According to the German Foundation for Marine Protection, even the basking shark, which is over ten meters long, and the great white shark are native to the Adriatic - albeit rare. Similar to the Mediterranean spearfish, sightings near the coast are extremely rare.
(fd)