A woman paddle-boarding off the California coast in Santa Cruz was knocked into the water during a frightening encounter with a sea lion, according to reports.
Heather Gray said the attack happened around 8 a.m. as she paddled between Capitola Wharf and Privates Beach near Pleasure Point.
“I was like, ‘What, what’s happening?’ It was like a horror movie,” Gray told KNTV.
The sea lion bit Gray on her arm, hand and feet, forcing her to fight it off.
Footage recorded by Surfline captured the moment the animal knocked Gray from her paddleboard.
“The thing that was the most bizarre was that it grabbed my hair,” she said.
Gray managed to climb back onto her board after the attack and immediately headed toward shore. The sea lion followed her, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
“We’re so used to seeing them get really comfortable with us, and I knew this wasn’t really normal,” Gray told KNTV.
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A friend later drove Gray to an urgent care clinic, where she received tetanus and rabies shots because of the bites.
“I know that there are a lot of sea lions that are sick right now, so my first thought was, ‘Oh my gosh, this was one of these sick sea lions,’” Gray told the station.
The Marine Mammal Center said sea lions and fur seals around Monterey Bay have been affected by domoic acid poisoning this year. Researchers have not yet determined why the number of impacted animals has increased.
According to the center, the toxin can cause marine mammals to behave unpredictably.
“Domoic acid poisoning is caused by harmful algal blooms,” the center said. “The neurotoxin accumulates in small fish that are eaten by marine mammals, including sea lions.”
Another sea lion attack involving a surfer near Santa Cruz was reported Tuesday.
The Marine Mammal Center has advised people to remain at least 150 feet away from animals that may be suffering from domoic acid poisoning.
Despite the frightening encounter, Gray said she does not plan to stop paddle-boarding.
“I’m not scared to go back out there, but I kind of want some of this domoic acid and red tide stuff to clear,” she told KNTV.
