Woman says dolphin injury at popular Jamaica attraction felt like a 'car accident'
A mother of two from Tennessee is speaking out after she says she was injured when she fell onto a dolphin's fin while taking part in a dolphin experience in Jamaica.
Cierra Stockard said while on vacation with friends on March 16, she decided to opt for an experience with dolphins known as the "Dolphin Royal Swim" at Dolphin Cove Jamaica, a marine park with multiple locations throughout Jamaica, according to its website.
The experience allows users to be "towed by two friendly Dolphins or feel the energy of these social marine mammals while they foot-push you to then splash into the water at maximum speed," the website states.
Stockard said she was being pushed by the dolphins into a standing position when she fell into the water and landed on a dolphin's fin.
"The dolphin on my left side was kind of swimming a little bit faster than the dolphin on my right side, so it made me unbalanced," Stockard said in an interview that aired Tuesday on "Good Morning America." "I just knew I was gonna fall into the water. I just didn't expect to hit the fin."
Stockard said she landed on the dolphin's fin so hard she felt like she had been struck by a car.
"It felt like I was in a car accident because it hit me super hard," Stockard said. "I started panicking."
According to Stockard, the dolphins appeared to try to help her after the incident.
"They came and rubbed against me and stopped their bodies from swimming to be right beside me," she said.
Stockard told "GMA" the impact with the dolphin's fin left her with a grapefruit-sized hematoma, a blood clot that is typically caused by a broken blood vessel, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Stockard -- who says she has sickle cell anemia, a group of disorders that affect the part of red blood cells that carry oxygen, according to the NIH -- told "GMA" she was rushed to a local hospital where she had to undergo surgery.
After spending time hospitalized in Jamaica, Stockard traveled home to Tennessee on March 24 and was admitted to a local hospital for further treatment.
Dolphin Cove did not respond to ABC News' multiple requests for comment.
Dan Ashe, president and CEO of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, a nonprofit organization that represents over 250 zoos and aquariums globally, told "GMA" that people should be aware of the risks of interacting with wild animals, even in controlled environments.
"Well-designed animal experiences can be excellent opportunities to connect with nature, but they are wild animals," said Ashe, who is not associated with Dolphin Cove. "No matter what condition they are in, they are wild animals, so people need to know that they are up to the experience."
