Sea Lion Attacks Surfer Girl

A sea lion leapt from the sea and attacked a 13-year old girl who was surfing behind a speedboat. The girl is in stable condition, but suffered a broken jaw and lost three teeth in the attack, which was apparently unprovoked.

Sea lions are known to be dangerous if provoked, but are not known to attack humans. In fact, they are known to generally avoid humans altogether, unless their territory is trespassed; sea lions are fiercely territorial. The animals can grow up to 800 pounds.

Some experts think the sea lion might have been trying to play with the girl, but I think not. There was a spate of sea lion attacks last year and I believe the reason is very simple: as their living areas are being industrialized and growing smaller, they are coming to see humans as trespassers and enemies to be attacked.

I'm still unclear as to how exactly the attack occurred if the girl was surfing behind a speedboat, unless it was going extremely slow. Witnesses said it was a "full-on frontal attack" and experts called the incident "bizarre."