Washington: The idea of a dolphin swimming in a pair of trunks sounds like a water-park stunt but for a dolphin living in Florida's Sarasota Bay, it was a brush with death.
Scrappy, the 10-year-old male bottlenose dolphin, somehow managed to get a pair of tight-fitting stretch-material black swim pants over his head and torso, down to his flippers.
It was a "potentially fatal wardrobe choice" for Scrappy, wrote the Chicago Tribune.
Researchers at Chicago's Brookfield Zoo marine mammal centre in Florida spotted Scrappy wearing the pants in early July, and were worried that the binding cloth could cut into his skin and even kill him.
"He must have found the swimsuit floating in the water," Randall Wells, a biologist at the Sarasota Dolphin Research Programme, said.
"Eventually, it could cut deeply enough to sever arteries, causing him to bleed," he added.
It took 31 people, five boats and an entire day to capture Scrappy and de-pant him. The adolescent dolphin, described as a loner, had two cuts nearly a centimetre deep in front of each fin and visible signs of a minor shark bite.
Rescuers treated the wounds, gave Scrappy some antibiotics, attached a radio transmitter and sent him on his way.
The biologists noted that beach-goers should be careful about what they leave behind. Plastic holders for six-pack drink cans and balloons sent aloft at celebrations far inland are two other major hazards for marine creatures and waterfowl.
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