Well if you think you are safe on a tow board while your boat or ski is scaring away all the wild life, think again. Atleast, one local had an issue with it…and wasn’t scared.
Somewhere in West Australia….by the way, its always in Australia where the freak accidents with animals tend to take place…but somewhere in West Australia, a thirteen year old girl was attacked by a Sea Lion, of all creatures. This wasn’t your normal attack either and of course not your normal thirteen year old.
You know recently a swimmer was attacked by a Sea Lion here in San Francisco and I think it bit the swimmers ankle and nibbled on her leg a bit…bite marks and such. Well this was nothing like that, it was a full on killer attack Sea Lion type of freakish occurence. The driver of the boat, 40 yr. old Chris Thomas said “It was really sort of movie like. This thing just exploded in a full-on frontal attack”.
First of all the mangy beast was over 650 lbs. and was described by Chris to have leapt out of the water like those Great Whites in the National Geographic Shows. You remember the photos showing that they can breach the water and soar to huge heights as they target their prey. Almost reminiscent of the way killer whales like to play with their food.
Anyway, Ella Murphy was standing on her tow board being towed around when all of a sudden this giant Sea Lion leapt out of the water documentary style and latched onto her throat giving her a huge wound under her chin, breaking her jaw and knocking out a few teeth. Chris, described as a family friend, saw the Sea Lion then circle back around and attempt a second pass at her as she lay floating in the water…luckily he was able to get between the Sea Lion and Ella to make the rescue just in time.
Chris being a veteran surfer in the area, said that he had recognized the Local as being “one of the big boys”. “It actually lined her up” and “hit her head on”.
Luckily, young Ella is recovering nicely in a hospital and actually doesn’t look too bad considering how this sounds. I’m sure you can all picture what this must have looked like, since we’ve all seen this happen in the movies…its usually a furry rabbit with BIG FANGS and SHARP TEETH! or a little mutt or crazy cat….but Sea Lion!! Only in Australia.
Best wishes of a speedy recovery go out to Ella and her family and I hope Chris doesn’t have too many nightmares playing that one back in his head. As for the Sea Lion, authorities are seeing what they can do to relocate this animal to a less trafficked area.
Bluebird Surf 