‘Like a horror movie’: Woman recounts sea lion attack in Monterey Bay

A woman survived a sea lion attack this week while paddleboarding in Monterey Bay.

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On Tuesday, around 8 a.m., Capitola resident Heather Gray was paddleboarding between Capitola Wharf and Privates Beach by Pleasure Point when a sea lion attacked her, NBC Bay Area (KNTV) first reported.

“It was like a horror movie,” Gray told the outlet.

The sea lion grabbed her hair and bit her arm, hand and feet, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. (The Chronicle and SFGATE are both owned by Hearst but have separate newsrooms.) She was eventually able to get back on her paddleboard, but the sea lion attempted to follow her to the shore before swimming away. She was treated at an urgent care clinic with antibiotics, a tetanus shot and a rabies shot. 

Monterey Bay has been flagged for its high levels of domoic acid, a poison caused by algae bloom, SFGATE previously reported. The elevated levels have caused dozens of sea lions already this year to get sick and become disoriented, leading to more rescue efforts. 

One sea lion died at Crissy Field earlier this month, likely from domoic acid poisoning. Because of domoic acid levels, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife in June released an advisory on commercial fishing for anchovies and sardines, which are a large part of sea lions’ diet. 

“Sea lions don’t drink water like we do for hydration,” Giancarlo Rulli, a spokesperson for the Marine Mammal Center, told SFGATE in August. “They get all the hydration from the food that they eat. They’re basically receiving large doses of this neurotoxin with no way to flush the toxin out of their system.”

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The Marine Mammal Center told the Chronicle it’s unclear whether the sea lion was poisoned since it was not examined. 

“Some of these animals may be sick or injured, others may be curious, others showing territorial or natural aggression in pursuing nearby food resources,” Rulli told the Chronicle. 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recommends that people stay at least 50 yards (half a football field) away from sea lions, both on land and in the water.