Dolphin leaps onto boat

MARCO ISLAND, Fla., March 14 (UPI) -- Florida fire officials said a dolphin weighing 600 to 700 pounds jumped onto the deck of a boat traveling on the Marco River and landed on a woman.

Isles of Capri Fire officials said a charter boat captain called about 2:44 p.m. Sunday and reported the dolphin had jumped out of the water and landed on a woman on the deck of the vessel, the Naples Daily News reported Monday.

Fire Lt. Keith Perry said rescuers determined the woman, who was not named, suffered a sprained ankle. He said firefighters, assisted by rescuers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Collier County Sheriff's Office, slid an immobilizing board under the dolphin and tied a rope around its tail to slide it back into the water.

"It seemed to know that we were trying to help," Perry said.