Does photo show Dolphins being swept away by Hurricane Dorian? Fact Check

An image is spreading that appears to show a dolphin being blown out of the sea by strong winds. Captions attached to the image claim it was taken during Hurricane Dorian.

FALSE

Some examples of the image appearing online can be seen below.

Among the floods during the hurricane Dorian , Dolphins were also being blown into the air in this awful weather in the Bahamas .

Unbelievable!! My heart aches for those who have felt and those who have yet to feel Dorian’s wrath. Their lives will forever be changed. Photographer Captures Dolphin Caught In Hurricane Winds

The image is fake. A reverse image search reveals the image was originally published by the website People of Lancaster. That website frequently posts satirical content that is not meant to be taken seriously. It’s content is labelled satire.

However as is often the case, content like this becomes separated from its original context and spreads online via social media.

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This isn’t the first time the People of Lancaster website as spread this same fake image. In October 2016, the site published an identical story, only claiming the dolphin was being carried by the winds of Hurricane Matthew. In September 2019, the authors of the site updated the same article changing Matthew to Dorian. The same site also posted the notorious “freeway shark” fake photos that are also popular during storms and hurricanes.

The original images where the dolphins have been added to are easily attainable online. The first is from 2004 in Florida during Hurricane Frances. The other is from 2005 and shows Hurricane Dennis. The images are below.

As such, the images are fake. We were unable to locate any genuine images or stories that claim dolphins are being blown inland by the hurricane winds.