- A pod of about 20 dolphins left a surfer unconscious
- He suffered a fractured pelvis
A young surfer is lucky to be alive after a pod of dolphins knocked him off his surfboard leaving him seriously injured and unconscious.
Eli Anderson, 20, was surfing at his local getaway at Emerald Beach on the New South Wales north coast on December 29 when he suddenly felt “like he’d been hit by a car”.
The carpenter was thrown from his surfboard and then caught in a frenzy of up to 20 dolphins blindly hunting for food.
Anderson was knocked unconscious and suffered a fractured pelvis in the terrifying incident, and says he is still struggling to deal with the trauma.
“They came from nowhere and one of their fins cut my board,” Anderson told Daily Mail Australia.
“They knocked me down and then knocked me out, so I don’t remember much until I was washed up on the beach.
‘When I recovered, I started counting my limbs and checked for blood. I felt a lot of pain but I was also very confused, because I thought it must have been a shark attack.’
Anderson was surfing with his father, Luke, on the beach about 20 kilometers north of Coffs Harbor and said they are always wary of sharks in the water, but not dolphins.
Eli Anderson (right) and his father Luke (left) have surfed at their local break in Emerald Beach NSW all their lives, but never considered dolphins a threat.

Eli Anderson’s surfboard had a large chunk removed from the side of one of the dolphin’s fins.

This keen surfer has always been wary of sharks, but says the ocean is his domain.

The freak accident occurred at Emerald Beach, about 20 kilometers north of Coffs Harbour.
They have been even more vigilant after their tight-knit community was rocked by the tragic death of a local surfer from a shark attack just over three years ago.
Father-to-be Timothy Thompson, 31, died after what was believed to be a great white shark mauled his arm just meters from where the couple were surfing.
Despite the best efforts of first responders and paramedics, Mr. Thompson died at the scene.
“I’ve seen (sharks) from time to time swimming under the board and I’ve been attacked by some of the smaller sharks,” Mr Anderson said.
“But I never thought dolphins would be a problem.”
His father, Luke, had already rowed to shore and was helpless when he saw his son being knocked out by the aggressive pod of dolphins.
“I told him I just wanted to catch one last wave and he was waiting for me on the beach,” Anderson said.
“He estimates there were at least 20 of them and it must have been a feeding frenzy as they pushed the bait into the shallow water.”

Surfer Timothy Thompson lost his life after being mauled by a shark at Emerald Beach

Dolphin hunting feeding frenzies are rare, but have been reported in Australia
The beach hunting technique used by dolphins is extremely rare, but has been reported in Australia.
It involves the mammals swimming quickly to generate waves that push the fish toward shore before the dolphins charge at them at high speed and pick them up.
Anderson was treated for his injuries at Coffs Harbor Health Campus Hospital and his full recovery is expected to take weeks.
He said he is still shaken by the terrifying incident, but insists it will not stop him from returning to the water.
“It’s taken me a long time to process it, but nothing could stop me from surfing,” he said.
‘It’s your domain, not mine. The Dolphins won, and that’s fine with me.’