California Sea Lions Attack Humans
Pastor Dale Morgan
California Sea Lions Attack Humans*
Nov 28 8:51 PM US/Eastern
By MARCUS WOHLSEN
Associated Press Writer
SAN FRANCISCO
Tourists flock to Fisherman's Wharf for the seafood and the stunning
views of San Francisco Bay, but for many visitors, the real stars are
the dozens of playful, whiskered sea lions that lounge by the water's
edge, gulping down fish.
Now a series of sea-lion attacks on people in recent months has led
experts to warn that the animals are not as cute and cuddly as they appear.
"People should understand these animals are out there not to attack
people or humans. But they're out there to survive for themselves," said
Jim Oswald, a spokesman for the Marine Mammal Center across the Golden
Gate Bridge from San Francisco.
In the most frightening of the recent episodes, a rogue sea lion bit 14
swimmers this month and chased 10 more out of the water at San
Francisco's Aquatic Park, a sheltered lagoon near the bay. At least one
victim suffered puncture wounds.
Some scientists speculate that the animals' aggressive behavior is being
caused by eating fish contaminated by toxic algae, or by a shortage of
food off the coast. But wildlife experts say even healthy sea lions are
best left alone.
In Southern California in June, a sea lion charged several people on
Manhattan Beach and bit a man before waddling into the water and
swimming away. In Berkeley, a woman was hospitalized last spring after a
sea lion took a chunk out of her leg.
Last year, a group of sea lions took over a Newport Beach marina and
caused a vintage 50-foot yacht to capsize when they boarded it. And a
lifeguard in Santa Barbara was bitten three times while swimming off El
Capitan State Beach.
In Alaska, a huge sea lion jumped onto a fisherman's boat in 2004,
knocked him overboard and pulled him underwater; he escaped without
serious injury.
Sea lions, which can reach 1,000 pounds, typically bite only if they
feel threatened or cornered. And they are more likely to flee than fight
if they can escape. Researchers have described the most recent attacks,
in which some swimmers were chased through open water, as abnormal behavior.
Still, with a population numbering about 200,000 and growing, these
playful, social creatures are increasingly likely to cross paths with
humans.
Sea lions accustomed to the easy pickings of seafood scraps in popular
fishing areas can become aggressive toward people if they fear their
food is about to be taken away, Oswald said.
The Berkeley attack, for example, was at a marina where fishermen dock
their boats and feed fish scraps to sea lions. After they ran out of
scraps, the sea lion turned aggressive and bit a crew member.
At the same time, a drop in fish stocks off the Southern California
coast due to El Nino-like conditions could be driving more hungry sea
lions than usual to San Francisco Bay, said Lynn Cullivan, a spokesman
for San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park.
Humans could also be contributing to aggression in sea lions in another
way: Toxic algae blooms fed by agricultural runoff and other pollution
can lead to the poisoning of marine mammals by a chemical called domoic
acid, which can cause brain damage. The Marine Mammal Center treated
more than 200 sea lions for domoic acid poisoning last year.
Veterinarians at the center believe the brain damage caused by the
poison could have led to the marauding animal's erratic behavior in
Aquatic Park, Oswald said, though they cannot be sure without actually
examining the sea lion.
So far park rangers have not been able to track the attacker down.
Nevertheless, the lagoon where the attacks occurred has been reopened to
swimmers, though with new signs warning people to stay away from sea lions.
"People who swim with the lions _ though I'm sure that's nice _ it's
probably not the best thing to do," Oswald said. "It's a wild animal.
And you want to keep them wild."