Did Chinese attack dolphins foil a pirate attack?

Posted By Joshua Keating Thursday, April 16, 2009 - 11:55 AM Share

It's hard for journalists not to get carried away with something as juicy as modern-day pirate attacks. But I think Chinese news agency Xinhua has jumped the...er...dolphin with this story:

The Chinese merchant ships escorted by a China's fleet sailed on the Gulf of Aden when they met some suspected pirate ships. Thousands of dolphins suddenly leaped out of water between pirates and merchants when the pirate ships headed for the China's.
The suspected pirates ships stopped and then turned away. The pirates could only lament their littleness before the vast number of dolphins. The spectacular scene continued for a while. [Emphasis mine]

Is the People's Liberation Army training a squadron of dolphins to fight pirates on the high seas? Have we allowed the Chinese to open up a dolphin gap? Well, probably not.

Though as The Lede's Robert Mackey points out, the idea's been floated before.

EXPLORE:FUN STUFF, PIRATES

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