Mihama, Japan - Four swimmers have been injured in a series of dolphin attacks in Japan.

Dolphins aren't just chasing fish around Suishohama Beach near the town of Mihama, Japan. They've also been attacking humans.

On Sunday, there were four separate dolphin attacks in the area. One incident left a swimmer in his mid-60s with bite wounds on his hands and broken ribs, as various media outlets have reported.

Another male swimmer in his mid-40s suffered bites to his arms in a separate incident earlier on the same morning.

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Later in the day, dolphins injured two more swimmers in the area.

According to the local police, there have been six dolphin attacks this year alone.

They have become such a problem that authorities have put up signs advising swimmers to avoid approaching or touching the wild mammals.

According to animal experts from the American Oceans, dolphin attacks are rare, and the mammals are not generally considered dangerous.

However, dolphins are not cute and cuddly animals, like Flipper. Experts note that that dolphins are wild animals and should be treated with respect. Dolphins may even attack humans if provoked, and they are known to be hostile towards humans or other creatures within the area of their hunting grounds.

As soon as the news of dolphins attacking swimmers in Japan went online, social media users began joking that the dolphins had joined their orca cousins in an "orca uprising." The internet has become obsessed with the idea of the animals fighting back after several instances where groups of the killer whales rammed into boats off the coast of Spain earlier this year.

At least three boats have already sunk in the area, and there have been at least 500 reports in which orcas have approached or reacted to boats in the waters around Morocco, Portugal, and Spain, since 2020.

Why the dolphins are attacking humans in Japan is currently unclear.