Just when you thought it was safe to pet those cute little sea lions on the beach. OK, maybe they’re not so little. And they’re not so cute, either. The fact is, sea lions are known to bite. They are relatives of dogs, after all, despite their misnomerish name associating them with felines. But you would not expect them to body slam you, right? Yet that is exactly what happened recently in Australia, according to this news story.
The story has it that 13-year old Aussie Ella Murphy had her jaw broken and got three teeth knocked out after a huge sea lion leapt out of the water and hit her head on as she was being towed on a surfboard behind a speedboat.
“This thing just exploded in a full-on, frontal attack,” a family member said. Scary.
Now, I’ve dealt with my share of sea lions in California. They tend to be loud, but I’ve never seen one go after somebody. Maybe there’s something about Aussie waters that makes them mean. Or maybe this girl said something to him as she was surfing past that made him mad. But seriously, I’m keeping extra distance next time I see a herd of these guys hanging out on the rocks.