A 15-year-old girl was attacked during her swim test in Long Beach by a sea lion sickened by a recent toxic algae bloom, according to the girl’s family.
On Sunday, Phoebe Beltran was completing her swim test for the cadet Junior Lifeguards program near 2100 Ocean Boulevard, she told The Times.
When she was swimming back during the 1,000-yard swim, she felt a “biting sensation” on her right arm over and over again. The teen ducked underwater, saw a shadow and feared that it was a shark.
“I was so scared,” she said. “I thought it was a shark going to bite my arm off and kill me.”
Phoebe’s mother, Bibiana Beltran, said she heard her daughter yelling for help. She noticed something brown in the water, which she at first thought was seaweed.
Lifeguards rushed in to help the girl to shore, and Bibiana saw a sea lion pop its head above the water. Then she saw other sea lions in the water.
“When she was close enough, we noticed her arm was bloody,” Bibiana Beltran said. “As a mother, you freak out because you don’t anticipate it being your child.”
Toxic algae events have been worsened with the warming of ocean temperatures caused by climate change and the acidification of the ocean due to nitrate runoff, according to experts.
A surfer reported last month an attack by a sea lion that was “feral, almost demonic” as he was on his board off Ventura County.
In the latest incident, paramedics quickly gave Phoebe first aid for her injuries, and she was rushed to the emergency room.
The girl has puncture wounds and scratches but didn’t need any stitches.
“Physically I’m getting a lot better,” Phoebe said. “I got painkillers and antibiotics. It was an emotional roller-coaster in general, not knowing what was going on and having moments of flashbacks.”
Bibiana Beltran said the doctor at the emergency room contacted a local marine mammal center for advice on how to treat a sea lion attack, because the doctor had never seen one before. She said that the doctor was told about the toxic algae bloom that has been making sea lions sick and sometimes aggressive.
“We’re just thankful that it wasn’t as bad as one thinks when you hear screams coming from the water,” Bibiana said.
Sea lions and other ocean mammals in Southern California have been getting sick from a recent poisoning event.
Ingesting domoic acid from harmful algal blooms can cause sea lions to have seizures or to crane their heads in a motion known as “stargazing.” They can also fall into a comatose state. Experts advise people not to interact with animals believed to be sick because they might aggressively lunge or even bite.