Unusual visitor

Germany isn't exactly one of the global hot spots for sighting dolphins and certainly doesn't come to mind when you think of swimming with dolphins.

But for the past few days, a dolphin swimming in the Kieler Förde inlet has increasingly drawn crowds to the shores of the north German city.

A glimpse of Flipper

Children adventurous enough to enter the water swim alongside the animal that showed up at some point last week in the Baltic seaport.

The dolphin has become an instant tourist attraction, according to the local Kieler Nachrichten newspaper. The animal seemed to be making friends with the local children, reportedly even letting them hang on to its fins and hug it.

Passengers on the local ferry are keeping a lookout for the dolphin, which seems to enjoy swimming through the locks that connect the inlet with Kiel Canal, a 98- kilometer waterway that links the North Sea with the Baltic.

'Ever so kind and gentle'

"The traffic on the canal doesn't seem to bother it," Matthias Visser from the Water and Shipping Authority (WSA) says, adding that the dolphin swims through the locks at a frisky pace.

Swimming in the area close to the locks is forbidden, Kiel's Coast Guard said in a warning to the public. They also pointed out that the dolphin might feel crowded and asked that people show some consideration.

Dolphins don't usually trust humans much, but some do turn to human company, marine scientist Boris Culik told the Kieler Nachrichten. "Maybe he's just lonely."