Watch Out For Lunging Sea Lions

By Chris Cocoles

Whenever I walk my dog down the Alki trail in West Seattle, I hear the singing of sea lions in Elliott Bay. They seem to be among the most playful creatures of the coast. Around my hometown near San Francisco, Pier 39 tourists get entertained by sea lions that sun themselves along the docks. An Alaskan fisherman didn’t have such a cute encounter recently.

From the Anchorage Daily News:

A sea lion jumped out of the water Sunday in Sitka and bit the rear end of a 19-year-old sitting on the railing of a fishing boat, Alaska State Troopers said.

The man, who was not identified, was aboard the fishing vessel Confidence with his back to the water when a larger bull sea lion came out of the water and bit him, leaving several large scratch marks but no puncture wounds, troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters said. The man’s injuries didn’t require medical attention.

“Thankfully he was wearing rain gear or it would likely have been worse,” Peters said in an email.

The vessel was offloading bait herring at Seafood Producers Cooperative. The co-op processes salmon, halibut, sablefish and albacore tuna, according to its website.

Authorities said they don’t believe anyone aboard the Confidence was feeding the Steller sea lion when the attack occurred.

Watch out for flying sea lions!