Sea lion bites 9-year-old girl while she was surfing near Monterey

By Zoe Hunt | CNN

MONTEREY COUNTY, California (KSBW) — Nine-year-old Corale Olsen was out in the water at Asilomar State Beach during surf camp with her brother and sister when they noticed a sea lion.

Moments later, the animal lunged at her.

“It was right next to me, and I was like ‘Oh my gosh, something really bad is going to happen.’ Then it just bit me,” said Corale. “It was pain, and then I was screaming.”

Corale’s surf instructor said he had no reason to think the sea lion would attack.

“I have surfed in these waters since I was about 6-years-old, but never ever seen something like that,” said surf instructor Alex De Marignac. “I feel like most kids kind of like go after sea lions lightly, and nothing happens.”

It was De Marignac’s quick thinking that got the kids safely to shore.

“I had two kids under each arm and then one hanging off my neck, and yeah, we all made it in,” said De Marignac.

“It was just the coach taking care of my sister,” said Corale’s brother, Rhodes Olsen.

“There was a lifeguard but … he or she, I bet, saw the sea lion go up, and they just did nothing,” said Corale. “So, it was my instructor pretty much being the lifeguard.”

The bite left behind small puncture wounds and bruising on Corale’s leg. She spent the rest of the day in the emergency room.

While sea lion bites are rare, they can happen.

Aggressive behavior is especially demonstrated if the animal is suffering from domoic acid poisoning, which is caused by a toxic algae bloom, or in some cases of the bacterial disease leptospirosis.

However, De Marignac said he thinks this incident may have been a case of the animal becoming territorial and wanting space.

“I think the rule of thumb is make sure to give animals their space. I think it’s totally fine to be curious, but I’d say never get a better look by getting closer to the animal,” said De Marignac.

The three Olsen siblings have spent their whole lives in the ocean. Corale said she’s not letting this attack stop her from getting back in the water.

“If something happens, that doesn’t mean that you stop doing what you love,” said Corale.