I'm your biggest fin! Heartwarming moment a dolphin enjoys a belly-rub from a snorkeler in the Aran Islands

  • Footage shows the dolphin - called Dusty - rolling over in the water as a woman gives her a belly-rub in Inis Oirr, the smallest of the Aran Islands, in Ireland
  • It was filmed by nature photographer Elaine Farrell while waiting for a ferry 
  • The dolphin had been following the woman while she was snorkelling 

By Sophie Inge For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

This is the heartwarming moment a dolphin enjoys a belly-rub from an obliging snorkeler.

Rare footage shows the bottle-nose dolphin - called Dusty - rolling over in the water as a woman on a boat gently pats her.

It was filmed by nature photographer Elaine Farrell in Inis Oirr, the smallest of the Aran Islands in western Ireland while she was waiting for a ferry.

That's the spot! Footage shows the bottlenose dolphin swimming over to a boat where a snorkeler gently pats the creature
According to nature photographer Elaine Farrell, who took the footage, the dolphin had been following the woman while she was snorkelling

That's the spot! Footage shows the bottlenose dolphin swimming over to a boat where a snorkeler gently pats the creature. According to nature photographer Elaine Farrell, who took the footage, the dolphin had been following the woman while she was snorkelling

Ms Farrell said the dolphin had been following the woman while she was snorkelling.

'I was the only person on the harbour when I noticed someone snorkeling in the water with the dolphin,' she said told the Irish Independent.

'They swam alongside each other, the dolphin following the swimmer when she got out of the water, rolling over to have his belly rubbed. Dusty clearly enjoyed the human contact.'

According to the photographer, the creature put on an entertaining display for visitors for about two hours.

In heaven: The dolphin rolls over in the water so the woman can pat its belly and seems to enjoy the human contact
In heaven: The dolphin rolls over in the water so the woman can pat its belly and seems to enjoy the human contact

In heaven: The dolphin rolls over in the water so the woman can pat its belly and seems to enjoy the human contact

But Dusty hasn't always been this friendly. 

In 2013, a woman suffered a broken rib, compressed vertebrae and lung damage when she was rammed by the dolphin in Doolin, County Clare. Days earlier, another woman was injured in the abdomen by the sea creature.

Dusty was later moved to the Aran Islands in 2014. 

Dr Simon Berrow, of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group advised swimmers not to get too close to the animals if they can avoid it.

'Go slow and let them come to you,' he told the Irish Examiner. 'Bottle nose dolphins are inquisitive animals so they probably will.' 

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