A 9-year-old girl is recovering after being bitten by a sea lion while surfing in Monterey County, according to news reports.
Corale Olsen told KSBW-TV that she was in the water at a surfing camp at Asilomar State Beach when a sea lion swam under her instructor’s leg before taking a bite at her leg.
“It was right next to me, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, something really bad is going to happen.’ Then it just bit me,” she said. “It was pain, and then I was screaming.”
The incident comes months after a toxic algae bloom event off the Southern California coast that caused marine animals such as sea lions to become sick and aggressive. The algae bloom led to widespread domoic acid poisoning, with sea lions having seizures or falling into a comatose state. Experts advised beachgoers to not interact with animals believed to be sick because, without warning, they might aggressively lunge or even bite.
In March, a 15-year-old girl, Phoebe Beltran, told The Times she was attacked by a sea lion while completing her swim test for the cadet Junior Lifeguards program in Long Beach.
The teen’s attack came weeks after a surfer in Ventura County shared on Facebook that he had been attacked by a sea lion while surfing in Oxnard. Rj LaMendola said the sea lion lunged at him on two occasions before biting him on the third time.
“Its jaws clamped down hard on my left butt cheek, piercing through my 5/4mm wetsuit like it was nothing,” he wrote. “The pain was sharp and immediate, but the terror was worse—it shook its head violently, tugging me off my board by my flesh, dragging me into the water.”
Although the incidents involving Beltran and LaMendola happened around the time of the toxic algae bloom, it’s unclear whether any of the sea lions involved were affected. It’s unknown whether the sea lion in the latest attack was sick.
Spokespersons for the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography could not be reached for comment.
Alex De Marignac, the surf instructor, who could not immediately be reached for comment, told the news station that sea lions rarely attack and didn’t think it would bite the young girl’s leg. De Marignac believes the seal lion was just being territorial and wanting space.
“I have surfed in these waters since I was about 6 years old, but never ever seen something like that,” he said. “I feel like most kids kind of like go after sea lions lightly, and nothing happens.”
De Marignac told the station he immediately took the kids out of the water, carrying at least two in his arms while a third clung onto his neck.
The bite left behind small puncture wounds and bruising on Corale’s leg, and she spent most of the day at the hospital. She plans to return to the water.
